My Precious People
by Serious Sam
Summary: Eight years have passed since the confrontation between Naruto and Sasuke. Now, Naruto has returned to Konoha to help someone who is precious to him. He finds some unexpected changes, among them the son of Hinata whom no one knows who the father is. Rated M for language and lemony goodness. Adopted and rewritten with permission from Nube De Cristal.
1. Coming Home

Well, first things first. This story and idea were originally written by Nube De Cristal, and she gets full credit for the first few chapters of this wonderful story, as well as being my beta going forward. I am honored that she is allowing me to adopt this story and continue writing it. I hope I can do it justice.

That being said, for all of you coming from her original story (Wishing, Waiting and Hoping) please note that I will be re-writing the chapters that she has already done, with her permission and approval. Her original content will still be there, but I'm adding some additional content for plot development and future lemony goodness (Giggity!) as well as the intent into making this story more than it was originally intended. So there's something new here for everyone and I would ask that readers bear with me during this time.

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_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. If I did, NaruHina would have been canon in issue 245.**_

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Chapter 1 – Coming Home

The hour was late. Kakashi Hatake, Rokudaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village was tired. However, the subject of the meeting he was in required that it be shrouded in secrecy.

And that subject was one Naruto Uzumaki.

Before him sat three people. The first was Tsunade Senju – retired Godaime Hokage and currently head of the Konoha medical division. The other two were Hiashi and Neji Hyüga, the current head and heir of the Hyüga clan.

"I have asked all of you here because I have an issue that I need help resolving," Hiashi said. "Recently, I have been approached by a suitor for my youngest daughter, Hanabi. The clan elders have made their intentions known that I must do everything necessary to ensure that the union takes place. As such, it leaves me in a very precarious situation in regards to my oldest daughter, Hinata."

Kakashi looked at Tsunade. "We could avoid all this if you would just tell us what you know of the mission. After all, you're the one who sent them on it in the first place and you were the only one who received the mission report on their return."

"No. There's a reason that report was sealed. It's not my place to reveal that. You have to ask Sakura or Hinata."

Kakashi's lone visible eye hardened. "I could order you as Hokage to answer."

"And as a former Hokage I would refuse."

"I could order Sakura and Hinata to answer as Hokage."

Tsunade snorted. "And take two of the best kunoichi in the village and have them jailed in ANBU cells for an undetermined period of time? Not to mention the fact that you would leave Hinata's son bereft of his only parent."

"_Be that as it may_," Hiashi said "The argument is pointless and distracts from the reason we asked for this meeting. We have made a decision regarding Hinata and need the help of you both to see it through."

Tsunade looked up and said, "We?"

Now it was Neji's turn to speak. "Yes. My uncle and I came to this decision together."

"Hinata has had no suitors for her hand since her return. Her status in the village has suffered as a single parent and the name of the father is all but unknown except to a select few."

He looked hard at Tsunade at the end of his statement. She just glared back at him, not revealing anything to his Hyüga eyes.

"However, everyone in this room knows of my cousins' deep and unrequited love for Naruto. It was _my_ suggestion to uncle that if he could be found, Naruto would be an ideal husband for her. He is a man of unquestionable honor and integrity, and he understands what it means to grow up without a father. He would care for both Hinata and her son as if he were his own."

Hiashi added, "We would also provide him with a sizeable dowry…"

"The little gaki isn't going to give a shit about that. And you're all forgetting something," Tsunade said. "Naruto left this village eight years ago a broken man. Even if we knew where he was, I'm pretty sure he isn't going to come back. He hasn't got an reason to do so."

The room was silent for a few moments before Kakashi spoke.

"I know where he is. I know how to contact him. And I'm pretty sure I know how to get him back home."

"How?" the three others said in unison.

"We tell him that one of his precious people needs help that only he can provide. That should get him home; Naruto has never refused to come to the aid of those who are precious to him."

Turning to Hiashi, he said "As for the rest…we just need to 'nudge' him to make the right choice."

"Nudge?"

"Yes, Hiashi – nudge. Naruto needs to come to the proper decision on his own. However, that doesn't mean that we can't give him the incentive to come to that conclusion."

"And just how do we do that?"

Kakashi eye smiled and said, "Simple – you goad him into it. Assuming we get him home and he agrees to the meeting, you belittle Hinata every chance you get. I'm pretty sure after about 5 minutes he'll get so pissed at you that he'll agree to the marriage just to shut you up."

Tsunade spoke. "You're playing a dangerous game here, Kakashi. If he finds out what we're planning here, it could…"

"That's why I'm making this an S rank secret. No one outside of the four of us will speak of this meeting ever again." Kakashi rose from his seat, turned and stared out the window.

After a few moments, he softly said "Besides, if there is one thing I'm sure of it's this..."

Turning around again, everyone could see the sadness in his gaze. "The best cure for a broken heart is a love without questions, boundaries or conditions. And this is precisely the kind of love that Hinata holds for Naruto."

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The first rays of dawn began to peek over the horizon, preparing every living thing for another day. The sun seemed to awaken nature itself, as it moved in harmony with all that relied on its warmth.

Naruto sat upon a rock, meditating as he did every morning in an attempt to find inner peace and tranquility. Some days this task was harder than others.

Lately though, the peace that he had sought for so long seemed elusive. Even if he entered Sage Mode, it did little to help quell his inner turmoil and find balance. And this morning, his "inner demon" didn't seem to want to help him out any towards that goal.

_**Kit**_, Kurama said, _**we both know that you dwell on the past. Peace does not come because of the pain that was forced upon you by the one you trusted and supposedly loved**_.

In recent years, he and the Kyuubi had come to a mutual understanding. They both acknowledged that they would be with each other until death took them from this world. While Naruto had actively sought this in recent years, his strength had grown so considerably that the escape that death would bring was not so easy to accomplish.

_**Thanks**_, Naruto responded. _**Glad you could bring that up. Again**_.

_**No problem. However, I believe your morning meditation session may be over. I sense someone coming towards our position. Not very strong and certainly not much of a threat, but it's obvious that he's looking for you.**_

Opening his eyes, he tensed and waited for the individual to arrive at his location. A lone man walked into the clearing wearing simple shinobi gear with a katana strapped to his back. There was no attempt at stealth; he certainly knew who Naruto was and that he was aware of his presence.

The man walked up to him and dropped on both knees to the ground and bowed low. "Lord Uzumaki, I am a messenger from Konoha. I bear an urgent message from our Hokage, Kakashi Hatake for you."

So Kakashi was Hokage now…interesting. And somehow he knew where he was.

"You've wasted your time. I have no desire to return to Konoha. Please leave."

The man rose from his bow, remaining on his knees. Holding a scroll out in front of him, he said "Hokage-sama thought you would say that. He told me to say before I left that one of your precious people requires help that only YOU can provide. The rest of the message is contained in this scroll for your eyes only."

Naruto looked upon the messenger, wondering if he should even look at it. Curiosity got the better of him and he took the scroll and unfurled it. The message was vague as to the nature of the emergency, but one name jumped off the page at him…

_Hinata__._

Emotions swirled up from deep within him as her image was brought forth from his memories. He remembered how kind and thoughtful she always was to him. He remembered her smile, and her flawless beauty. She was definitely one of his precious people.

He hesitated a few seconds before another voice answered his unspoken question.

_**We both know you've made up your mind, kit. She is too important to you to ignore the request, whatever that may be.**_

Naruto looked at the messenger and rolled up the scroll and handed it back.

"I'll return with you. We leave immediately."

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Naruto burst out in laughter, "That's a good joke, Kakashi-sensei."

The laughter died on his lips after realizing that his old teacher wasn't laughing and was looking at him rather seriously.

"You've gotta be joking..."

That cold eye continued looking at him, unperturbed.

"Please sensei, you're gotta be kidding me... right?"

"No, I'm not. Hiashi Hyüga expects to see you today in the afternoon. You will go and see him." And with this the Hokage returned to some papers in his hands.

A range of emotions crossed the face of the young jönin, anger and confusion surpassing all of them. He couldn't hold back as he struck the desk with his fist.

"No! Dattebayo!"

Kakashi raised his eye. Naruto ignored the cold look.

"I won't. It's unfair of you to force me...haven't I given enough to this village? The right thing would be to allow me to choose for myself. I'm an adult, I'm..."

Kakashi interrupted him, "What? Twenty-six years old?" and he arched a brow. "Even I doubt it sometimes."

Naruto remained silent recognizing the tone of voice. It was uncompromising and icy, the kind that doesn't allow an argument or refusal. He saw his former sensei heave a sigh and continue with his usually laid back attitude.

"You've been away from the village for almost eight years. While we only recently knew where you were, we still have no idea as to what you've been doing. You can't expect to find everything the way you left it. Change is the only constant, and people tend to forget what they conveniently want...few people in the village remember what you did for us. They only remember the fear of what you represent."

Naruto took a hand to the back of his neck, accepting what Kakashi told him.

"But there is something that I think has remained unchanged... your desire to be Hokage."

His gaze hardened as he looked at Kakashi and stated, "I _**will**_ be Hokage."

"Then you have nothing to lose. I think this is an excellent proposition where both you and Hinata will benefit. At the very least you should speak with Hiashi and listen to his offer."

It took several minutes of silence while Naruto reflected on Kakashi's words. At the moment, he couldn't come up with a logical argument as to why he should refuse.

"Alright, I'll listen to Hiashi. But I won't promise anything."

"That's fair enough." the Hokage conceded.

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At the time agreed for the appointment, Naruto felt a bit nervous. But all that changed after listening to Hiashi as he sat in the luxurious living room of the Hyüga manor. Anger was boiling inside him while listening to him talk.

"As I said, it is no secret that Hinata's reputation is not impeccable and that my daughter doesn't have that many good qualities."

Naruto gripped the chair arms with his hands, trying to hold down the impulse of jumping up and throttling the man. The stupid man wanted qualities? There were so many; she was brave, determined, compassionate...

"Besides, she is not particularly pretty."

Was he blind? She was a beauty.

"And on top of it all she has the problem of that bastard son. Hinata has never wanted to say who the father is. I recognize that it isn't appealing for anyone to take care of another man's child and above all of this, having to be responsible for the unfortunate creature. We don't even know to what lineage he belongs..."

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't stop the asshole he would choke him to death.

"Alright, I accept."

Hiashi looked at him annoyed for being interrupted in that way. "I don't think I've finished yet."

"And I don't need to hear anything else. I'll marry her and you can rest assured that you no longer need to take care of her and her…_despicable bastard_."

The blond stood from the chair, ignoring how Hiashi's face was turning red with anger.

"Just tell me one thing. Do you dislike your daughter so much that you would throw her at the first man who asks for her hand? Don't you think you should ask first what _she_ wants?"

"This wasn't a whim of the moment." the leader of the Hyüga straightened up, "We have thought of every detail..."

"We? Who exactly are 'we', Hiashi?"

"My nephew and I."

Neji? Was that possible? Naruto thought that the young Hyüga had changed his attitude towards his cousin...maybe the village did change while he was away.

"If you marry my daughter, you will not only acquire a great dowry..."

Naruto looked at him with interest, seeing the disgust on his face and sensing that the next thing that would be said was a bitter pill to swallow for the Hyüga leader.

"…but you will also be member of our renowned clan."

This last comment made Naruto consider asking another question, suddenly suspecting an ulterior motive behind this proposal.

"Why do you want to get rid of your daughter?"

"The son of a highly prestigious clan is interested in Hanabi. It would be a shame to lose this opportunity because of Hinata."

A smile appeared on the face of the jönin, as he leaned close to Hiashi and said in a chilling voice, "Therefore you prefer that she disappear from the scene, right?

The Hyüga felt threatened. Rumors has reached his ears that the young man in his presence was a shadow of what he once was and if he wished it, he could get rid of him in the blink of an eye.

"In any case, she has to marry sooner or later. You better than anybody, knows that a child needs a father figure. After all, you are a living example of this."

Naruto regretted having asked. The man infuriated him every time he opened his mouth. He turned on his heels to leave the place.

"Well, at least we have an agreement..."

The blonde didn't bother to answer him. He wanted to be as far as possible from him fearing that he would not be responsible for his actions. Opening the door and rushing through it, he ran into someone. Both fell to the ground, landing on their bottoms. His first instinct was to help up the person he had run into.

"Na...? Naruto-kun?"

He withdrew his hand as if burned by her touch.

"Hinata." It was all he could say before leaving hastily.

The sweet brunette noticed Naruto's anger. It was then that she saw her father walking out of the living room with a slight smile on his face.

Hinata looked at him with distrust. "Otou-san! What have you done?"

"What I should have done a long time ago."

That cryptic comment lingered in the air between them. Fear froze her heart, as she turned and ran down the hallway to her room.

Once there, she closed the door and leaned against it, trying to calm down. What did her father say to Naruto-kun for him to run out of the place as if pursued by demons? She placed both hands on her cheeks, feeling them flushed and hot beneath her touch. She'd heard he had returned to the village, but hadn't had the opportunity to see him until a few minutes ago. And once again, her world was turned upside down.

What was this strange power he had over her? Even after all this time, just seeing him made her heart beat wildly, barely able to stand on her trembling legs. The emotion that he awoke within her was almost overpowering.

She sighed, annoyed with herself. She'd thought that she would have left behind all that nonsense when she became a mother. A soft knock on her door brought her out of her musings, and she bade whoever it was to enter.

"Nii-san?" She was concerned to see the serious look on his face. "Has something happened to Hikaru?"

"No; he's all right. I left him with one of the maids. He's eating a snack."

Hinata saw him falter, unsure of his next words with her. She had never seen him like that.

"Please walk with me for a moment, Hinata."

She nodded at his strange request and followed him as he walked to the courtyard.

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Hinata looked at her cousin with an expression full of disbelief and shock.

"Marry..." she repeated, baffled and then added with a barely audible voice, "Naruto-kun?"

"Yes. You need a husband, and your child needs a father."

Her look hardened before forcefully replying, "I don't need a husband, let alone my son needs a father."

Neji could not hold back the small smile that appeared on his lips. Motherhood has done wonders for Hinata. It provided her with a peculiar strength, making her somewhat willful at times.

"How could father and you do this to me? How dare you both to decide my life like this?"

"What did you expect, cousin? Uncle would not stand idly when a suitor for Hanabi came into the picture. You know that he will do everything necessary to assure the union that has been presented."

She looked away from Neji's face. An agonizing pain, one that she knew since childhood, emerged from the depths of her being, choking her.

"All this can be avoided if you tell us the name of the father..."

Her eyes looked at him and hardened over again. "Never."

"Why do you keep protecting him?"

"Forget it, nii-san. Let bygones be bygones."

"Though, there is something that has always aroused my curiosity…that Hikaru hasn't inherited the byakugan."

Hinata pressed her lips together and looked away from him.

"His father must have very dominant genes."

Her face turned pale. She had asked Neji to practice with Hikaru from an early age, knowing fully what it might entail.

"But that doesn't mean that the boy doesn't have talent." Neji continued without giving much weight to Hinata's sullen silence. "Quite the contrary, he has and when he fully develops them he will be a formidable opponent."

She smiled as Neji described her son, her chest swelling with pride.

"However, I wish he could take everything with a degree of seriousness, and be more mindful and alert when I try to explain things to him." And this time he looked carefully at Hinata, trying to see a gesture in her impassive face, "Not to mention that he is so restless as well as excitable..."

Guessing what he was trying to bring up, she quickly added, "Well, you can't blame him if he is very energetic and full of life."

He sighed, never suspecting that his cousin could be so stubborn. Something told him she was not being entirely honest with him. He did not understand the reason for her strange behavior, keeping the whole business secret. But the more he thought about it the more his blood began to boil over with anger.

"If anyone dared to take advantage of you, I swear I'll..."

She looked at him with conviction and didn't let him finish. "Neji! No one has abused me."

"Is he married?"

Hinata gritted her teeth. How many times have she endured this interrogation?

"He's surely a womanizer, right?" Neji growled.

"It's useless to discuss it. I won't say anything."

"It was in the village where Tsunade-sama sent you with Sakura, right? To this strange mission that none of the three of you want to talk about. Almost a year away from Konoha... I swear if I find out who he is, I will make him suffer an agonizing death before ending his useless life."

"Neji!" She stopped and taking a deep breath to calm herself, placed her hand on her cousin's arm. "Really, I'm thankful for your concern and..." She had to smile before she continued, "your desire to defend my honor. You better than anyone else know that we need to leave the past behind. You have a nephew who loves you and worships the ground you walk on. Isn't that more important?"

He sighed, defeated. He decided to continue, ignoring the small deviation from the main conversation.

"As I was saying, it was evident that uncle would do something about your present situation. As such, I wouldn't have allowed you to leave with just anyone who accepted uncle's proposal. It was I who suggested that uncle choose Naruto as a possible candidate. I'm sure he'll know how to take care of Hikaru and you; he is the best choice of all that could have been taken into consideration."

"Why…why Naruto-kun?" She asked in a small voice.

"Because despite what almost everybody in the village thinks, he is a man with a high level of honesty and integrity."

"I don't want to be a burden to anyone."

"Ah, don't worry, Hinata. Believe me; he also wins with the whole situation. In addition to your generous dowry, he also has the prestige of being part of the Hyüga clan."

'You talk as if he's..."

"Accepted? According to uncle, yes…he has done so."

She was sure that her face has taken the highest shade of scarlet. A swirl of emotions lashed at her insides; shame and humiliation at the devious way that they decided at her back; anger that they didn't take into account her wishes. Above all this, however, there was a degree of euphoria.

_Naruto-kun her husband?_

How many times as a child had she dreamed about that impossible event?

But after acquiring a degree of maturity in recent years and then, being a mother she thought she had left behind all those childhood fantasies. And yet, despite her belief that he would never return she had kept a piece of her heart as an exclusive property of the blond.

Then, as if someone has given her a slap in the face, she recalled how he had left. Now she understood the cause of his hasty departure.

"Oh, no! Nii-san, I have to talk to him!"

"Do you think you can do it without fainting?" He taunted.

Hinata looked at him somewhat annoyed, "Of course I can. It's been a long time since I lost my nerve in his presence. I'll go now to clarify the whole situation and apologize to him for the inconvenience. He should understand that this isn't his responsibility."

Neji watched his cousin as she walked decisively towards the village, a tiny smile curving his lips. He let her go, not being worried at all. Knowing Naruto as a champion of the weak and embracing any cause to help others, Hinata would be skillfully swerved from her objective.

He had a pretty good idea of how the meeting had transpired between his uncle and Naruto; betting that the latter had been on the verge of losing his temper with his uncle's arrogant attitudes and his constant humiliation towards Hinata. As they had thought, Naruto could never swallow any type of abuse towards his precious people and had decided to accept the offer simply to help the sweet Hyüga, achieving the goal that they themselves had set out from the beginning.

And although he knew that his cousin didn't need anyone and could take care of herself, Neji wanted her to finally have someone who supported and listened to her. Hinata had suffered far too much, and with the possible exception of her son Hikaru she loved Naruto more than anything.

And who knows? Perhaps they had manipulated the situation in a way that things would take the right course, eventually.

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Naruto was at the top of a lamp post, looking over the village and thinking. He closed his eyes, raising his face to the sky to feel the sun's rays stroking his skin as a soft breeze ruffled his blond hair.

Shortly after returning to the village he had overheard by chance two women talking about Hinata and the shame - or the lack of it, according to the women - of coming back with a child after going away with Sakura on that mission that Tsunade, who was then Hokage had ordered them to take.

Now that he had accepted Hiashi's offer, he was curious to know who the father of Hinata's son was.

So without wasting any time, he had gone looking for Sakura at the apartment she shared with Sasuke. Seeing her again after all these years had shaken him up both emotionally and physically, reopening old wounds and bringing back memories that he thought were forgotten. As she welcomed him into their home, he observed that she looked happy, her presence practically glowing. She really was beautiful.

Sakura quickly informed him that Sasuke wasn't home if he was looking for him. But as soon as he explained that he was here to see her and ask about Hinata and her son, her whole appearance changed abruptly, becoming unapproachable and unyielding….

_*****Flashback*****_

"No."

He looked at her, shocked. Why the sudden change in demeanor?

"What do you mean, no?"

"Just what I said. No. I won't tell you anything about Hikaru."

"Why? You both went on that mission; you have to know someth…"

"Naruto!" Sakura said forcefully. "I already said I'm not answering your questions. Now stop asking."

The expression on Naruto's face became hard and cold. He stared at her and said, "This is not how I expected our first conversation in years to play out, Sakura. I'm disappointed that it hasn't gone better."

"Then get used to disappointment. You won't find your answer here. So either ask about something else, or…leave."

_*****End Flashback*****_

…And Naruto left the apartment with more questions than when he arrived. What the hell was the damn mystery surrounding Hinata and her son? He was sure that she knew something. She went with Hinata, she had to know the whole affair. What was she hiding? And why?

There was only one other person he could ask about this. He hadn't been by to see her yet, but he was pretty sure that the conversation would mirror the one he just had with Sakura. Not that it would change his mind about asking, of course.

He was going to talk with Tsunade.

Raising his head and opening his eyes, he took off in the direction of the hospital.

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Tsunade had finished with an exhausting day at the hospital. An open bottle of very good sake was on her desk, and she had been drinking for the last half hour. It was her way of relaxing at the end of a very hard day. Or any other day for that matter.

Just as she was about to pour herself another drink, she heard a knock on her door and told whoever it was to come in.

The door opened and Naruto walked in. She stared at him for a few seconds as tears filled her eyes.

Naruto smiled at her and said, "Hey, baa-chan. It's good to see you again."

And in the blink of an eye she was there and hugging him, crying into his shoulder.

"Gaki. I was so worried about you. I missed you so much."

Naruto knew how much he meant to her. Her life had been filled with the deaths of those she loved…first Nawaki, her little brother.

Then Dan, the love of her young life.

And then Jiraiya, one of the Sannin and her former teammate. The love of her later life. The man whom Naruto affectionately called Pervy-Sage, and was the closest thing to a father figure he ever had.

He was all she had left. And he felt a new wave of guilt for being away for so long.

After a few minutes, Tsunade lifted her head and let go of him. Looking him over and wiping her eyes, she said "Well, you've certainly gotten taller. And you're not as high-spirited as you were. I'm guessing a lot of things have happened over the last eight years…"

He laughed and said, "You don't know the half of it. Got time to talk and catch up on things? I could really use a drink right now."

She laughed and smiled at him. "Gaki, that is ONE thing that I can provide."

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* * *

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The two of them sat and talked for about two hours. Tsunade filled him in on most of what had been going on in the village; she had decided a few years ago to step down and work full time at the hospital, as well as starting an academy for medical ninjutsu for the shinobi corps. With Naruto gone, Kakashi was the most logical choice to take the job, but they both knew he was just holding the position for Naruto…if he ever returned.

Naruto talked about some of the things that had happened to him over the last eight years. He didn't need to go over it all; as Hokage he was sure Tsunade knew some of it. At least the parts that mattered.

Then he asked about all of his friends and how they were doing. She told him Neji and Tenten had gotten married. Ino, Kiba, Choji and Shino were still single. Shikamaru and Temari were still dating; apparently he thinks it's too troublesome to propose. Gaara was still Kazekage, and currently dating one of his students.

Tsunade stopped the conversation there, and sat in silence drinking her sake. Naruto bristled a bit at the silence after several seconds and said, "And? What else?"

"What else is there? I'm sure you already know about Sakura and Hinata."

"No, I don't."

She smiled at him. "Ah…now we come to the REAL reason why you're here."

Yeah, he knew he had the worst poker face ever.

"Okay…I did come here to talk about that, but I also wanted to see you as well. You are one of my precious people, after all."

"Thank you, Naruto. You are special to me as well."

Then there was that uncomfortable silence again. He knew she was doing it on purpose and it was beginning to make his blood pressure rise.

"And? What else?

And once again that smile. "Sorry. There IS nothing else."

"Baa-chan, you know there is. I'm sure that even though you're retired from being Hokage, there isn't much that slips by you. You knew why I was brought back here."

She smirked at him. "Maybe. And maybe not."

He let that slide. "Fine. You should know that I've accepted Hiashi's proposal and agreed to marry Hinata."

Tsunade's face lit up upon hearing this and her smile was perhaps the biggest he'd ever seen on her. "Congratulations. I know the both of you will be very happy. She's a wonderful woman."

"Thank you. But now that I've accepted his proposal and agreed to the marriage, I think I have a right to know who the father of her son is."

Tsunade lost her smile and her face became impassive. "Why don't you ask Sakura?"

He raised his voice a bit and said, "I already tried that. She shut me down and told me no – rather emphatically. Then she told me that if I continued to ask questions about Hinata and her son, then I should just leave."

"Which I'm guessing is what happened. And here you are, talking with the last person who could possibly provide you with the information that you want. Sorry Naruto, but you won't find the answers you're looking for here. I'm not THAT drunk."

"Why, baa-chan? Why can't you tell me?"

Once again, that uncomfortable silence. But when Tsunade spoke again, her voice was soft and caring.

"Naruto."

He looked at her eyes and saw sympathy. But he also saw no chance of her buckling under the pressure.

"There's a reason why I can't tell you. But regardless of what it is, the only person who can – and frankly should tell you – is Hinata. Have you talked with her yet?"

He closed his eyes and sat in silence before answering, "No."

Tsunade poured herself the last bit of sake and quickly downed it, placing the empty glass on the desk. "Then don't you think it's about time that you do?"

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* * *

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He ran across the rooftops towards the Hyüga estate, lost in thought once again and reflecting on what Tsunade had said. He agreed with her that he should ask Hinata, but he was also pretty sure that the conversation would end the same way – with him angry and his questions unanswered. There had to be another way he could possibly find out what he wanted to know.

The only thought left to him was that he hadn't had an opportunity to see the boy. Perhaps his looks or some physical feature could provide him with some clue.

He didn't see the movement that pulled him out of his introspection, rather he felt it. He directed his gaze toward the small distraction. It was a small red-haired kid, who Naruto thought looked to be about six to seven years old.

The boy was hiding behind some wooden crates, only a part of his face hovering above them. With a graceful somersault, he fell to the ground and silently approached the kid.

The redhead was watching a small laundry business. Naruto recognized the place and who the owner was; she was one of the women that he had heard talking about Hinata and her "_unscrupulous boldness_".

The blond tilted his head, recalling his childhood and the pranks he used to play. He was so engrossed in watching the child that when the scream full of anger came from the building, it took him by surprise. Naruto lifted his face to stare as the outraged owner ran outside, looking for the culprit who was responsible. And amid all the noise and fuss, an interested Naruto leaned over and asked:

"What did you do?"

The boy jumped, certain that he'd been caught and would receive a severe scolding.

"I didn't do anything," he replied defensively, while the blush on his cheeks betrayed him.

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at the boy with skepticism. "Right. And I don't like ramen, either."

Shocked, the redhead's eyes grew wide and he said, "You don't like ramen?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Apparently, the kid still didn't understand the concept of sarcasm. "No, I was being sarcastic. That means I don't believe you."

Suddenly the boy stood up and retorted with enough insolence, "What if I did do something?"

The young ninja stared at the kid. The boy didn't seem to be trying to attract attention to himself like Naruto used to do when he was younger. He wasn't trying to be playful either. No, he seemed very angry; it wasn't at Naruto but just what it was specifically was uncertain…

"You!"

Both of them turned their faces toward the owner of the laundromat. Instinctively, the boy hid behind Naruto's legs.

"I'm sure it was you, little devil."

It was probably wrong of him to cover for the boy, but an automatic response to protect the kid burst forth from deep inside him. Looking at the lady and feigning ignorance, Naruto asked "What are you talking about?"

"He poured ink into the water I use to rinse the white laundry."

Naruto flinched internally.

"Well, I'm afraid to say you're mistaken. He's been with me the entire morning."

He only hoped that he was doing the right thing. Naruto had always been uncomfortable lying to people – actually, he was pretty bad at it. While they had been together, Sakura had always known when he was hiding something because it was so blatantly obvious. At that moment he was feeling quite a bit disgusted with his lie, but he still wanted to speak with the boy first.

First things first, though. He needed to come up with a way for the kid to repair the damages he had inflicted. He pointed down the street and said, "However, I did see some suspicious kids running in that direction."

For a few seconds the blond thought the owner of the laundromat would refute him. After a few seconds, she turned away grumbling about how city trash always ended up joining forces. As she walked back into her business and closed the door, Naruto looked at the boy with disapproval.

"So, ink in the water. Hardly creative for a prank, and frankly not very original. I don't want to think about how those sheets ended up. Tell me, what's the problem you have with her?"

The red headed kid scrunched his face, making a menacing scowl, "Her favorite pastime is to talk badly about my mom."

"Your mother?"

"Yes. Hinata Hyüga."

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A/N: Okay, to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's story, welcome. As I mentioned at the start of this chapter, she allowed me to adopt this story and continue it far beyond what she originally told me she had in mind. I'd like this story to go as far as I can take it; hopefully that will be a good, long time. I hope you all come with me for the ride.

The first few chapters of this story will contain content from the old story - my objective for these are to add some new content to go along with the old content, as well as fix the dialogue and flow. Considering English is her second language, I think Nube de Cristal did a wonderful job.

I have great plans for the direction of this story, as well as a few ideas for plot development. However, understand that I agreed to adopt this story and continue it ONLY under the pretense that Nube de Cristal would be my beta going forward for ALL future chapters. Nothing will be published without her. I think she's a wonderful writer and I'm grateful for her continued support.

As I also mentioned at the beginning of this, The first few chapters will be somewhat repetitive if you are coming from the old story so PLEASE bear with me while I get through them as quick as possible and get to the new stuff. Every chapter will have SOMETHING new, I'm just not sure how much. I already have half of the new chapter 10 written out, but unfortunately I can't publish that until the rest is redone. I should have CHAPTER 2 up and running in about a week or so.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	2. Opportunity Lost and Found

_**Tada! Chapter 2 in less than two weeks. This stuff practically writes itself!**_

In all seriousness, once again I need to thank Nube de Cristal for the story and the idea, as well as being my beta. I'm very grateful for her allowing me to adopt it and letting me continue writing such a great story.

With over 100 followers of the story – and this being my first fanfic – the pressure is immense to continue the tale. And I know how it is between story updates for the ones that I follow from other writers, but the one thing that makes the updates happen faster is…REVIEWS.

Yes people, reviews. If you write for FanFiction, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't and you just love to read, take heed to my statement: _**REVIEWS MAKE THINGS HAPPEN**_. Reviews make the writer feel good (or bad) about his (or her) work. And the number of reviews is just as important as getting them.

For my first chapter, I received 19 reviews which is pretty good. However, I need the help of my followers because I would like at least 65 reviews before I release chapter 3. With the amount of people following the story, that should be a piece of cake. So please, leave those reviews – I read and appreciate them all and they inspire me to write.

What's new in this chapter? Dialogue and flow fixed, the Sakura/Hinata conversation is longer and more confrontational and I threw a whole lot of romance in here, especially the end. What can I say? My wife loves the stuff, and the original chapter was steeped in it. Besides, I'm as much a sucker for romance as I am for a gruesome battle and death.

However, that being said to my reviewer **MALEVOLO,** yes – I do plan on making Naruto (and the story) a bit more Alpha-Male but as I promised to follow the original storyline I have to get through this part first. Sorry, but please bear with me – we will be through soon enough and get to some epic battle scenes.

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, yada yada yada, Naruto and Hinata get married and have 15 kids (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 2 – Opportunity Lost and Found

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Hinata was starting to get worried. She had no idea where Naruto had gone, and she'd been asking everyone she could if they had seen him. Places that people had seen him varied all over the village and none of the leads had turned up positive. However, her concern quickly became apprehension when the last few people she'd asked not only indicated where he was going, but who was with him.

_"I saw him just a few minutes ago, walking with your son by the way."_

_"I think he went that way...he was with your son. They were talking about you."_

Hinata gave the man a worried look. "Please…do you know where they were headed?

The man blinked and said, "I'm pretty sure they were going to Ichiraku Ramen."

Ichiraku Ramen. She silently cursed herself. Why didn't she think of starting there in the first place? It was Naruto's favorite place to eat after all, and he probably hadn't seen Teuchi or Ayame since returning to the village.

With any luck he would still be there, finishing his 15th bowl of ramen.

_With her son_.

She began walking quickly towards the cozy restaurant, attempting to calm her erratic heartbeat. She was concerned about losing him again; she needed to talk with him and convince him to forget about his promise.

But why was Naruto with Hikaru? She tried to ignore the pit that was forming in her stomach. There was no way he could know…and yet, someone also mentioned they had seen him leaving Sakura and Sasuke's apartment. No – she was _absolutely_ sure that Sakura didn't say anything. However, without realizing it she started to run, sprinting through the streets and ignoring the curious glances that everybody gave her.

She walked into the small establishment almost out of breath, looking for a redhead and a blonde. She spotted them at the end of the counter, Hikaru peppering Naruto with questions about all sorts of things.

"Hikaru!" she exclaimed and quickly walked towards them both. She looked at Hikaru trying to figure out what they had been talking about, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary in that little face that she loved so much.

"What are you doing outside the compound? Didn't your uncle leave you in the kitchen eating a snack?"

"Mom!" He answered, his face taking on an expression of pure innocence. Standing on the stool, he hugged his mother and covered her face with kisses saying, "You're so pretty, mom!"

He stopped when he saw that his mother remained unfazed by his loving attack. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was staring down at him sternly. "Save it, mister. You're not getting out of trouble that easy. I'm going to make sure your uncle assigns you chores as punishment. You disobeyed him and rest assured that I will be supervising what your uncle decides to give you."

Naruto stared at Hikaru, fascinated at the scene unfolding before him. This was a lost part of his life, something he never had growing up. It was an experience that he would never be able to recover; and the ache of that loss was plainly visible in his eyes.

_The experience of having a mother. The feeling of knowing that no matter how hard things were, someone was always there to wrap their warm, loving arms around you and make you feel safe._

Hinata felt his intense blue gaze and turned her head to look at him. She was shaken by the degree of longing in his eyes and her heart was consumed with anguish.

She immediately recognized that look…the desire to have a mother; to know what is to be loved unconditionally by someone never asking for anything in return. The one person who can make your pain all go away, just by being who she is and nothing more.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

His sapphire eyes immediately lit up and he turned to look at her, a smile appearing on his lips. And just as quick, every trace of sadness disappeared from his face.

"Hello, Hinata." His voice sent shivers down her spine. "It's been a long time without seeing each other."

She nodded, struggling to keep herself calm. She returned his smile and said, "Eight years."

Hinata studied the face that stared back at her intensely. This wasn't the boy she had a crush on back in the academy nor the man she had loved as a teenager. All traces of his youth had vanished and now she saw a man staring back at her, one that has lived and seen too much. And somehow, she found him more handsome than ever – the distinct hardness of his features providing him with a unique beauty, both outside and inside.

"The years have been good to you, Hinata. You're more beautiful than ever."

She blushed, realizing that she'd also received the same inspection from him.

"Thank you." She mumbled. If Neji could only see her now! She'd throw it in his face that she hadn't lost consciousness in Naruto's presence.

Then she remembered why she'd been looking for him in the first place.

"I'd like to talk to you, Naruto-kun."

He nodded his head in agreement and said, "All right. Let's go for a walk."

He left enough money on the counter to cover the bill for both Hikaru and himself, and waved goodbye to Teuchi. Gently grasping her elbow, he led her outside the restaurant to take her to a more secluded and quiet place. He thought the park would be nice.

As they walked in silence, Naruto pondered the situation. Hikaru was clutching his mother's hand, giving them both a curious look. He could feel the tension in the air and knew something was going to happen.

Now, Naruto knew he wasn't the smartest person around, but he certainly was no fool. The harsh reality of the last eight years of his life had given him a sense of maturity and knowledge beyond his years and it was obvious what Hinata's intention was. However, no matter what it took he wasn't going to allow her to change his mind. He didn't want to let her go. So as soon as they reached the park, he resolved not let her talk and weasel her way out of the situation.

"Hikaru, go play on the swings for a while." Hinata told her son.

He narrowed his eyes, wanting to hear what he suspected was going to be a _very_ interesting conversation. However, he was in hot water already with his mom and knowing that a punishment was coming later that evening, he decided not to make it worse and turned to walk towards the swings.

As soon as Hikaru was out of earshot, Hinata turned and said "Naruto..."

He turned and quickly interrupted her. "I'm glad you wanted to talk with me."

"Are you...happy?" Her heart felt like lead in her chest. Was her desire to relieve him of the responsibility he'd accepted so great? She would give him every reason and opportunity to regret having accepted the proposal in the first place.

"Yes. We need to set the date."

"The...date?" She was trying to get him to realize that she and Hikaru were not his responsibility. But somehow, he was steering the conversation in the opposite direction and it was confusing her.

"Yes. I think the right date for the ceremony would be the first day of summer. It gives us enough time to plan and for me to look for a place for the three of us to live."

"But, Naruto-kun..."

He cut her off again. "Don't you think the date is perfect? And I've been thinking about buying one of those new houses located on the outskirts of Konoha…unless of course, you don't think you'll like it."

"Oh, the resort community is very nice and convenient! But I..."

"Great!" He didn't let her finish. "It's the new place then."

"But they're very expensive and that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Hinata was beginning to suspect that he'd guessed why she wanted to talk with him.

"Don't worry about the money." He didn't allow her to speak once again. "Now, about the ceremony…do you have anyone particular in mind that you want to marry us? Because I think I'd like Kakashi-sensei to do it."

"Naruto-kun."

"And what about the venue? I think it would be nice if we have it at the..."

"Naruto!"

Blue eyes stared at her astounded. Irritated, she had firmly raised her voice and stopped him in mid-sentence. It was the same voice she used with Hikaru when he didn't listen to her.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He blinked. "Well, isn't it obvious?"

"Yes, it is. But what I don't understand is your reason behind it all. I've come to tell you that you're not beholden to marry me."

He looked at her, stunned. For a few seconds he was at a loss for words. "I know. I _want_ to do it."

She stared at him, confused. Desperate to give him a reason to forget the whole thing, she blurted out the most farfetched idea she could come up with. "If you need money, all you have to do is ask."

"_I don't…need…money_." He cut in coldly. "And your family can keep the dowry. I don't need it to marry you."

This conversation was starting to sound _exactly_ the same as the one he'd had with Hiashi earlier that day. She couldn't see the wonderful qualities she possessed…on the outside, she was so beautiful. But he knew that beneath that beauty lied a kind, compassionate and brave woman.

It seemed that despite the time that had passed, she still suffered from the same insecurities she had as a child.

She saw the look in his eyes and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

He nodded his head, accepting her apology. He wished he could tell her. If she only knew…if only everyone in the village knew how he wanted to forget…everything. Leave the past and so many awful memories behind. Memories of a childhood lost and unrequited love. Decisions that later in life he regretted, because they had led him away from true peace and happiness.

He thought back to a few days ago when the messenger had found him. He didn't know what to expect; the message had been intentionally vague. However, it became painfully clear when he met with Kakashi-sensei what the situation with Hinata was. At first he'd resisted the idea of marrying her. He wasn't sure why, perhaps he felt he didn't need a change in his life. That he was all right with the way things were.

Then, Hiashi made the offer – he'd belittled Hinata enough during the meeting that when he finally hit his breaking point, he'd accepted his proposal without a second thought. And now, here was Hinata offering him a chance to walk away from the promise he made.

But one thing Hinata forgot is that he never goes back on a promise. Ever.

And the more he thought about it, the more the idea of having a family began to appeal to him. He wanted to be a husband and a father, offering his strength and support to them no matter how good or bad things became.

The idea of coming home to someone and just talking about your day, or doing tasks around the house filled him with a sense of warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time. He wanted to give someone the feeling he never had growing up. The feeling that he'd missed so much.

He was sure that they would help him forget how much it hurt.

She pulled him out of his thoughts. "It's just that I think you should marry someone you love, and not someone who's been forced upon you."

"Love?" He chuckled, laughing softly. That sound alone gave Hinata goose bumps. "You, better than anyone should know that love isn't real."

She looked at him, shocked at his statement. This wasn't the Naruto that she remembered. What happened to the happy, carefree man she knew? The one who always looked for the best in everyone, in every situation?

She silently wondered what happened that made him so cynical about love. Had his time with Sakura hurt him so much? What happened to make him like this?

She lifted her head and stated defiantly, "I do believe in love."

"I think you're being overly optimistic," Naruto argued. "If love exists, then tell me – where's Hikaru's father? Where has he been all this time? Why hasn't he cared enough to be here for both of you, rather than allow your reputation to be dragged through the mud?"

Hinata didn't have an answer for that, and stared at her feet silently.

"Who's the father?"

Immediately, Naruto could tell she wasn't expecting to hear the question asked – especially not from him nor in that manner. Her demeanor became hard and rigid, and the emotional walls that she had let down were suddenly back. She raised her eyes and answered him in cold undertones, "That's none of your business."

"I believe it is. I've accepted your father's proposal; therefore it gives me the right to ask."

She refused to yield to his demands. "And I still haven't accepted my father's proposal."

He ignored what she just said and asked, "Do you love him?" She noticed that his voice was still firm, but now had an undertone of anger. He needed to know and was pressing her for an answer. "Do you still love him?"

Her head came up and met his gaze. She looked into his eyes – those beautiful blue eyes – and saw the anger along with a new emotion – fear. What was he afraid of? This was Naruto – he'd fought battles against impossible odds and never flinched. The look he was giving her both confused and terrified her at the same time.

She had to leave, to get as far away from him as she could before she lost control. But her body wouldn't move and her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to explode at any second.

Where was Hikaru? She spotted him hanging from one of the trees that surrounded the park. She needed to get to him, walk away from all this…

"I have to go." She said, barely containing her anxiety. As she stood up and tried to walk past him, he grabbed her arm and turned her face to look at him.

"Do I know him?" He stared at her face, looking for something that would confirm his line of questioning. "Is he married?" He saw her gaze falter a bit, and suddenly everything seemed to make sense to him. "That's it. He's married and you're lovers. _That's_ why you don't want to marry me. You're still secretly seeing each other."

The sound of her hand hitting Naruto's face echoed throughout the park. They stared at each other for several seconds; Naruto was shocked while Hinata was angry.

She spoke first and broke the silence. "That was uncalled for. Let me go. Right now."

The tone of voice she used made it very clear that there wasn't room for discussion. He released her arm, and watched silently as she walked to Hikaru. Grabbing his hand, she left the park with her back rigid. She didn't look back.

He sat there, shocked. The mark on his cheek was slowly fading thanks to the nine-tailed fox, but the emotional pain that it caused still lingered. What the hell had possessed him to act like that? He had no information, no evidence that anything he just said was true, yet he'd continued to pepper her with questions until she'd had enough and left, angry and hurt.

At that moment, he realized that the way he'd acted towards Hinata was just like Hiashi did with him earlier that day, and the thought made him sick to his stomach.

Naruto closed his eyes, lost in thought. He really didn't have the right to demand anything from her, especially who Hikaru's father was. And did it really matter? If he married her, wouldn't both of them become his anyways, just as he would become theirs?

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks…he really fucked things up royally. He needed to find her and apologize, and hopefully she would forgive him and grant him a second chance. Because the more he thought about it, the more he recognized that something deep inside of him was crying out for her – and her son.

He was sure he knew the reason behind this overwhelming need for forgiveness and acceptance. Or at least he was pretty sure of it…

Sakura didn't know it yet, but both she and Sasuke were going to be parents. While sometimes he still had problems reading emotions and body language, he was quite adept at noticing physical changes in the human body. The telltale signs were there when he visited with Sakura earlier that day and while he was happy for them both, it had sent an icy shiver down his spine knowing that he could have been…no, he _almost_ was in his place.

He shook his head, trying to erase the painful memories from his thoughts. They weren't helping right now, and dwelling on the idea of 'what-if' and 'could have been' wasn't making things any easier.

Standing up with new purpose, he wondered how he could to convince Hinata that he could be a good husband for her, as well as a good father to Hikaru.

And an idea came to him…_maybe he just needed to go back to the basics_.

Looking up, he noticed the sun was starting to set. He didn't have much time to put this new plan into action. Smiling, he took off running towards the wealthy district of Konoha.

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Sakura heard a knock on her door and when she opened it; her eyes became wide with shock.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?"

Hinata stared at her. Sakura had never been a very warm and caring person to anyone other than Sasuke, but in the last several years her curt tone of voice had gotten worse. It wasn't necessarily cold, just…abrupt and unconcerned.

"I need to talk with you about…things. May I please come in?"

Sakura stepped aside to let her enter. Hinata came in and sat on the couch, playing with her fingers like she did when she was nervous. Something was clearly wrong, and based on who her earlier visitor was she had a good idea what it could be.

A tea kettle began to whistle in the kitchen. Turning to Hinata she said, "I was just getting ready to have some tea. Would you like some?"

Hinata thought this might help quell her nerves and nodded yes. "Some oolong tea would be nice, if you have it."

Indicating that she did, Sakura went into the kitchen and prepared the tea, placing it on a serving tray along with some cookies. She was fairly sure that this was going to be a _long_ conversation and they were going to need something to eat during it.

She came back into the living room, set down the tray and gave Hinata her tea. For a few minutes, they just sat there in silence until finally Sakura realized that she was still very nervous. Deciding to start the conversation she asked, "Why are you here, Hinata?"

Her eyes had a haunted look. "I need someone to talk to, and some advice. You're the only person I can talk with about this."

"Is it about the boy?"

Hinata's gaze became hard and she said, "Hikaru. His name is Hikaru, Sakura. Stop calling him 'the boy' because he has a name and I would appreciate it if you would use it."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. It still doesn't answer the question as to why you're here, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with Naruto. What's going on between you two? And why do you look like you've been chased by ghosts?"

If only she knew how true her statement was, because she felt like she _was_ being chased by ghosts…ghosts from her past.

Hinata looked at her carefully. Sakura's tone of voice had turned defensive and she wondered why. "Why do you want to know?"

"Naruto came by here earlier to 'visit' – at least that's what he told me. But he wasn't really interested in hearing about me or Sasuke; he just kept asking questions about who Hikaru's father is."

The color drained from Hinata's face and she said, "Did you tell him anything?"

"No. I told him he could either stop asking or leave. He left."

"Do you think he knows anything?"

"Naruto?" Sakura snorted, "Of course not. You can waive something right under his nose and he would still be unaware of it."

Hinata thought about the conversation she just had with Naruto. "Not from what I just saw. I talked with him just a little while ago. He's changed, Sakura. He's not the same happy kid who saw the good in everything. He's become insensitive and hard hearted."

Sakura shrugged, indifferent. "I didn't notice anything unusual. He seems the same to me."

Hinata scowled and said, "None of you actually knew him like I did. I watched him from the shadows and sidelines as he hid behind a false image, hiding the pain he really felt."

Sakura didn't have an answer for that statement and sat there, blank and unresponsive.

Hinata fought to choke back the tears that were forming in her eyes. "He even told me that love isn't real. That he doesn't believe in love anymore." She looked at Sakura, who sat there unemotional. "What did you do to him?"

"Excuse me?"

The tears were falling from her eyes. "I'm sure Naruto-kun as seen and done many things over the last eight years that would haunt most people. But that wouldn't explain why he said that." Her eyes bored into Sakura's. "The only explanation is that his heart was broken so severely, that the idea of love existing in his life again is too painful a concept to believe in."

Sakura pursed her lips and said, "And?"

"And we were together on that mission for almost a year. There was never a time – not once – that we talked about what truly happened. What he meant to you."

Sakura scoffed and said, "It doesn't matter anymore. What happened between us is dead and buried."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

"Well, it's the only answer you're going to get. I'll tell you the same thing I told Naruto. Stop asking about this and move on to another subject."

Hinata was starting to get angry with her flippant attitude. She decided that Sakura needed a taste of her own medicine.

With a confidence the belied her inner anxiety, she said "Father has asked him to marry me."

It had the desired effect. Sakura's face lost all color and she quickly blurted out, "You can't marry him."

That one statement put her over the edge. Her voice took on the same tone she had used back at the park on Naruto. "You do not tell me who I can or can't marry."

"Don't do it, Hinata."

"Why do you care?"

"Because he doesn't love you."

"Thank you for reminding me of that fact once again, Sakura. Do you think I've forgotten that? You and I both know very well who he loves, who was always first in his thoughts and heart. We both also know who used that love to her convenience, breaking his heart beyond repair in the process."

"He knew what he was getting into when we dated." Sakura retorted bitingly.

"Did he? Looking back at it now, I highly doubt that. You knew what he meant to me and how much I loved him. And you obviously didn't care enough to let him know right from the beginning that I loved him and _you didn't_."

Sakura was glaring daggers at her. It appeared that she had struck a nerve; apparently that statement had more truth than she cared to admit.

Sakura knew that Hinata was slowly convincing herself to marry Naruto. Desperate to regain control of the conversation, she said the only thing left that came to mind.

"Think about Hikaru."

And then all of a sudden, she began to see everything clearly. Regardless of who Naruto loved, she'd been acting selfishly by not thinking about her son. Deep down she knew he needed a father.

Hinata turned and smiled at her. "Thanks for reminding me."

And Sakura smiled back, thinking that she had talked her out of it. The smile quickly vanished when Hinata said, "I should accept because of Hikaru. He deserves to have a father."

"Haven't you been listening to me? He doesn't love you!"

"So what? You're missing one important piece of information." The smile Hinata was wearing grew bigger as she thought about what Naruto had said earlier. "He knows he doesn't have to marry me. I told him as much. He said he knew that, but he _wanted_ to do it. It doesn't matter to me who holds his heart. I've known of arranged marriages that have lasted because both people based it on mutual respect and trust. I'm sure that Naruto-kun and I can achieve a marriage like that."

"Don't you see?" Anxiety had gripped Sakura upon seeing Hinata's resolve. "He just wants to marry you for the prestige that your name will provide him. His dream has always been to be hokage. The dobe is only using you to get what he's always wanted!"

That was the last straw. Unleashing a massive amount of killing intent, Hinata activated her Byakugan and quickly lashed out striking three tenketsu points, two in her lungs and one near her heart. Sakura crumpled onto the floor, gasping for breath and clutching her chest.

"This will be your only warning, Sakura. If you ever talk about Naruto-kun like that again, I'll Juuken your body so bad you'll have to eat your meals through a straw for the next six months. Do you understand?"

Sakura could only nod at her, since she was struggling to breathe right now.

"Do you honestly think Naruto-kun would do something like that? That he would use me to further his own ends?" The words were rushing out and she continued relentlessly. "Why do you want to take the only opportunity I have to live my own life away from me? Is it that you can't stand the idea of him being with someone else? That you want him to pine for you forever and see him wallow in his loneliness? Or is it that you can't stand the fact that _he…wants…me_?"

Hinata received no answer, but she didn't need one. How could she be so stupid and allow pride to blind her? She thought back to the past and how often she used to dream of being in this position, and now here it was offered with no strings attached and she may have ruined her chances completely. Hinata had come to Sakura looking for answers but they were there all along…

…Maybe Naruto-kun hadn't asked her father for her hand in marriage.

…And maybe he hadn't asked her to marry him in the traditional way, on bended knee with a ring.

…And perhaps he hadn't shown a shred of affection, not even feigned it. He told her he didn't believe that love was real.

But he was an honorable man, deeply wounded by his past just like her. He was lonely and reaching out for someone.

No matter what the reasons were, she wanted to become his wife. She wanted it more than anything.

She left Sakura's apartment, intent on finding Naruto-kun.

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She ran towards the hotel Naruto was staying at, hoping she wasn't too late. Upon arriving, the front desk informed her that he wasn't in his room and that they hadn't seen him. She asked how long his stay was scheduled for, and they said he was due to check out tomorrow.

Thanking them, she turned and left. Tears began to fall down her face and memories of her childhood came to the surface. Eight years ago, she had resigned herself to the fact that Naruto would probably never come back to the village, and that her dreams would probably go unfulfilled. And now here he was, back again after all this time and he actually wanted to marry her. And what did she do? She'd tried to talk him out of it, and had driven him away in the process. Now he was gone once again, maybe forever this time.

She turned and began to walk despondently towards her home, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to hold in the pain. She realized what a fool she'd been, and she had no one to blame but herself. Why had she let this opportunity slip away from her?

The Hyūga compound. It was her home; at least for now but she was going to be thrown out sooner or later. She was a shame to her father and her clan. And even though she knew Neji would always take care of her and her son, it wasn't his burden to bear. He was married to Tenten and deserved to have a life and family of his own.

It was dark when the sky decided to open its gates, giving way to a cold, persistent rain which perfectly matched her mood. Shivering in the cold and wallowing in her own self pity, she didn't notice the figure standing next to the gate to the compound. She was scared at first because the darkness and rain didn't allow her to distinguish the blurry shape, but as soon as she activated her Byakugan she immediately knew who it was.

She deactivated her Byakugan, terrified that this was all a dream. She lost the ability to speak as he stepped into the light.

"What are you doing out of your house at this hour?"

Did…did she hear tenderness in his voice? He removed the coat he was wearing and put it on her, trying to cover her from the rain – if that was even possible since the garment was just as soaked as she was. She looked at it; ankle length with short sleeves and colored red with black flames along the bottom. She recognized it immediately…

It was the same one he was wearing the day he defeated Pain.

Despite what everyone thought, Naruto wasn't stupid. Oblivious, maybe…but not stupid. He was fully aware of the significance of the coat and what it represented. And he was counting on the effect it would have on Hinata.

Hinata knew what the coat was, and the memories that it brought back were almost too much to bear. He had been waiting for her. She was mesmerized by the intensity of his gaze and couldn't look away. Her only thought was that she hoped he didn't know she'd been crying, and that her face was wet because of the rain.

"Besides, you'll catch a cold walking in the rain like this. I guess when we get married I'll have to watch you more closely. If you get sick, who's going to cook for me and wash my clothes?" He smiled at her and winked.

"Ma...married?"

"Why not? We're two lonely souls and we both understand the pain of not being accepted for who we are. And I think you've forgotten that I never go back on my word. When I decide to do something, I won't let anything stop me. I want to marry you, Hinata. Very much."

She knew the truth of that statement. When Naruto-kun insisted on something there was no stopping him.

"I...I..." She stammered, feeling taken aback.

She swallowed hard, trying to calm down but her heart was running at full speed, making it difficult to do. Her breath caught in her throat as he raised his hand to wipe the tears from her face. How could he have known that she had been crying? Kami, his touch was delightful. The stroke of his hand on her skin felt like wildfire. She closed her eyes and leaned into his palm, lost in the sensation that it was bringing.

His face became serious. "Please forgive me. I shouldn't have asked about Hikaru's father. You're absolutely right, it's none of my business and I promise from now on I won't bring up the subject of his parentage again."

He took both of her hands in his. She opened her eyes and stared at her small, white hands that seemed so lost in his huge tanned hands. The sensation that ran through her arms to the center of her being awakened a whirlwind of emotions inside her.

"I think we both can make this marriage work and that you and I deserve this opportunity." He looked deep into her eyes and smiled for a moment. "And I make you the promise of a lifetime that I will always be there for you and Hikaru."

Hinata was teetering on the edge of consciousness. He suddenly let go of her hands and reached into his pocket, producing a small velvet box. Opening it, he revealed a 5 Carat Princess Cut Amethyst and Diamond engagement ring.

Still looking deep into her eyes, he dropped to one knee and said "Hinata Hyūga. You are one of my most precious people. Would you do me the honor of marrying me and letting me be a father to Hikaru?"

Hinata couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She was going to lose it; her body was going haywire and her legs were giving out. The intensity of the moment was so great that there was only one thing she could possibly do…

She fainted.

Naruto caught her bridal style, stopping her fall before she hit the ground. Holding her close as he carried her into the house, he smiled and whispered in her ear…

"I'll take that as a yes."

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Hinata stirred and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to take in her surroundings and noticed that she was in her room, in bed.

"Nice to see you back among the living, cousin."

Turning her head, she saw Neji sitting in a chair that had been turned around, leaning against the backrest. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Still a bit groggy, she looked at him and asked, "What…happened? How…how did I get here?"

"Naruto met you at the main entrance. He proposed and you passed out." He chuckled a bit and said, "I guess I was right. You _can't_ talk to him without fainting."

Her face turning red from embarrassment, she tried hiding under the covers. It was then that she realized that she was wearing only her underwear.

"Nii-san! Where are my clothes?"

"Hinata, calm down. After you fainted, Naruto carried you into the compound and put you here in your room before leaving. I had Yui get you out of your wet clothes so you wouldn't catch a cold, and she put you into bed."

"Nar…Naruto-kun carried me in here?"

"Yes. And in case you're wondering if it was all a dream…" Neji pointed to the corner of her room, and hanging there to dry was the coat that Naruto had so lovingly put around her shoulders.

Neji stood and said, "Now that you're awake, I'll be going. Tenten must be wondering where I am." He opened the door and just as he was about to leave, he looked back at her. His eyes twinkled mischievously and said, "By the way, it's a beautiful ring. Congratulations." And with that, he closed the door behind him.

She suddenly looked down and there, on the third finger of her left hand was the ring Naruto had used to propose. He must have put it on her before he left.

The Amethyst seemed to match the color of her eyes, and was surrounded by a halo of miniature diamonds. It must have cost a fortune. And the subtle fact that the Amethyst on the ring was a Princess Cut wasn't lost on her, either. _**He still thinks of me as a princess**_…her heart swelled as she looked at the ring once again.

_Her ring_, she corrected herself. It belonged to her and no one else. Even more amazing was that it seemed to fit perfectly on her finger and didn't need to be sized.

Maybe this was a sign from Kami that finally, things would work out. That this wouldn't be another opportunity missed. That she would have the ability to live her life.

Lying down on the bed, she hugged her knees to her chest and cried herself to sleep. Only this time, they weren't tears of sadness but were instead tears of joy.

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A/N: Okay, once again to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's original story, welcome. I hope you liked the new content; I really put some serious effort into the romance aspect of it. I'm eager to see the reviews for this chapter since I read and re-read it about 20 times to make sure it worked just right.

So, I'm starting a new thing going forward…Recommending another writer's work that provides me with ideas and inspiration. The reason being is that I love giving kudos to other people if I believe their story rocks. If I do this, you can bet that I'll make sure to give full credit to the original story and hope you check it out because they should be acknowledged for what they do.

This chapter's recommendation is for author **SWAGOSAURUS**, and his great fanfic Perfectly Imperfect Love. Be warned – this is a _NaruSaku_ fanfic…and while I'm a diehard _**NaruHina**_ fan, I do appreciate another pairing as long as they don't bash anyone else. This one fits the bill, but be warned – it's a _**DarkFic**_, rated M but _not for lemons_. He hasn't updated in a few months, so if you like it leave him a review and maybe this will push him to write again.

Last of all, remember that the first few chapters will be somewhat repetitive if you are coming from the old story so PLEASE bear with me while I get through them as quick as possible and get to the new stuff. Every chapter will have SOMETHING new; I'm just not sure how much.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	3. Conversation with a Hokage

_**And…chapter 3! The hits just keep on coming!**_

Once again I need to thank Nube de Cristal for the story and the idea, as well as being my beta. I'm very grateful for her allowing me to adopt it and letting me continue writing such a great story.

Before I begin, I want to thank everyone who left me a review on the last chapter. I read them all, the good and the bad. If you have a specific issue (or problem) with the story I try to respond to it personally and say thank you, even if you didn't like it. This is my first fanfic (sort of, since Nube's story is helping) but I'm learning on the job. The reviews – real and anonymous, good and bad – helped with the writing of this chapter. And they will help with the next as well. So please leave them, make me feel good about what I'm doing and help me be a better writer. It's for a good cause!

As it is with most things I'm adding to the story, the the little fight scene that I worked into the last chapter between Sakura and Hinata, as well as Naruto manipulating the situation so that Hinata wouldn't say no to him when he propsed were done for future plot development and will be addressed in chapter 4 (and yes, I know that's the next chapter). I'm not doing this to bash Sakura or make Naruto look bad, but it's essential for the direction I want to take the story in the beginning chapters. I realize that I won't be able to please everyone, but all I ask is that you give the story a chance to explain. I'm working as fast as I can on the rewrite, but it's rather hard trying to integrate the new stuff with the old story and keep it true to form.

So, once again – REVIEWS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND! Love getting them, so keep up the good work!

What's new here? Well, as usual dialogue and flow have been fixed, I expanded on the conversation with Kakashi and about two thirds of the chapter is all new stuff. So this should help with some more background material and how things will set up down the road.

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Surely, you can't be serious.**_

_**Disclaimer – I am serious. And don't call me Shirley. (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 3 – Conversation with a Hokage

Barely a week had passed in Konoha. The engagement had formally been announced and the news was spreading throughout the village. During that time, Naruto and Hinata were seen spending quite a bit of time together, talking of matters pertaining to the wedding as well as renewing their friendship.

As Hokage, Kakashi knew he needed to have a conversation with Naruto and thought it would be best to have it sooner rather than later. He scheduled a meeting for noon in his office, intent on discussing a great many things with the 'future Hokage'.

At the appointed time, Naruto arrived at the tower. Remembering how Kakashi used to enter the office when Tsunade was in charge, he sent chakra into his feet and ran up the side of the building and onto the balcony so that he could enter through the window.

Sitting on the window sill, he watched Kakashi as he rubbed his temples, attempting to massage away the massive headache he apparently had. It appeared that being Hokage was far more stressful and demanding than he had originally thought.

Not that it would deter him, of course. He still wanted the job.

Kakashi turned around and said, "Nice to see you're here on time. However, would it be too much to ask for you to use the door?"

Naruto decided to have some fun and said, "Yeah, actually it would. My flames of youth are burning brightly today! Yosh!" Striking the nice guy pose, he smiled and gave Kakashi a big thumbs up.

Kakashi groaned. Without the tiniest bit of humor in his voice, he said "Not funny, Naruto. Not funny at all."

"Are you kidding, Kakashi-sensei? It's hilarious!" Hopping down from the window, he walked to the chair opposite his desk and sat down.

"So, you decided to accept Hiashi's proposal and marry Hinata. I would like to personally congratulate you; she's a wonderful woman and I'm sure that you'll both be very happy together."

"Thank you very much."

"Word on the street is that you made it almost 5 minutes into the meeting before accepting the offer and telling Hiashi to shove it." Inwardly, Kakashi was pleased with himself; Naruto in some ways was still just as predictable. His idea of having Hiashi belittle Hinata had worked like a charm. He should've bet Tsunade that it would work because he would have made a fortune knowing her luck as the 'legendary sucker'.

"More or less. Listening to that man makes my teeth itch."

"He's going to be your father-in-law, you know."

"Don't remind me."

"Also, this morning I received the marriage contract from the Hyūga clan for approval. I find it interesting that it arrived today considering the news was all over the village several days ago."

Naruto shrugged. "It's not really that big of a deal. I was having a bit of a disagreement with Hiashi and Neji regarding Hinata's dowry. They insisted that I take it in order to assure that Hinata would continue to live the life to which she'd become accustomed. I told them that I didn't want it and didn't need it to marry her. In the end, I won and the condition was removed before sending it to you."

"I imagine it filled you with a certain sense of self-worth telling Hiashi you didn't need his money."

He rolled his eyes and said, "You have _no_ idea."

"I also heard that you purchased a rather large home in the new resort on the outskirts of the village."

Suddenly, Naruto recognized what was going on. This was going to be one of _those_ meetings. Not two friends talking about old times, but more of a 'friendly interrogation'. He had an idea as to where this conversation was going to end up but vowed to remain impassive for as long as he could.

Adopting a blank stare, he said "So?"

"Add to that the fact that you've been buying expensive gifts all week and sending them to Hinata..."

He remained silent.

"There are rumors running around the village that you're squandering Hinata's dowry. But since you didn't accept it, we both know that's not true, right?"

"Where are you going with this?"

Kakashi activated the privacy seals on the room before standing up and walking over to the windows in his office from which he could see all of Konoha. Naruto remained seated, staring impassively at the back of his former teacher.

"Two years ago, our intelligence network began to hear stories of strangers passing through the Land of Fire. They were part of an elite organization called the Mienai Segi. Very few can be members."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What's that got to do with me?"

"Maybe nothing... but then again, where there's smoke there's usually fire." He turned around and walked toward the blond. "This organization is very strict; few choose to remain after being accepted. They train for days on end under brutal conditions, not stopping to eat or sleep during the entire time."

"Sounds rather farfetched if you ask me. More like fairy tales that people have created to scare young children at night. It's impossible for something like that to be real."

Kakashi stopped in front of him and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "The members embrace a life of solitude and restriction where they learn to control their carnal appetites, learning forbidden jutsu that only people with a firm grasp of themselves can achieve."

Naruto looked at him impassively.

"Their missions could almost be considered suicidal. For those who believe that they'd found happiness only to suffer the pain of betrayal, it's the perfect place to find their release in death." He paused for a brief moment. "Missions are usually paid for by Daimyo and other members of nobility. The payment from a single mission is usually greater than a ninja's annual income."

Leaning closer, Kakashi stared hard at him. "Which brings us to your rather...shall we say, extravagant expenses lately. I've been waiting for the right time to have this conversation with you."

The young ninja shrugged. "So what if I've spent a bit of money lately? It's nobody business but my own. I haven't had a need to use a lot of the money I've made on missions over the years."

"Roll up your sleeves."

"No."

"If you have nothing to hide, why don't you do it?"

"I don't have to take this." Naruto stood up, determined to leave.

Kakashi firmly said, "Sit down, Naruto. I'm not finished yet."

For a few seconds, he feared Naruto would disobey. But the young man did as he ordered.

"I don't need to see the marks on your arms to know that you were a member."

The blond sighed, defeated. "Fine, you got me. I was a member. Is there a problem with that?"

"No. But as the Hokage, It's important for me to know what resources I have available for the protection of Konoha." He softly added, "I'm not judging you, Naruto. All missions you led, at least those that came to my ears seemed to be justified."

"I don't know if I'd call them justified."

"Naruto, in life everything isn't just black or white. There's also a middle ground where things are gray. Many ninjas live our entire lives immersed in the middle where right and wrong aren't clearly defined."

Kakashi tried to lighten the mood a bit. He eye smiled and said, "So one of my students was a member of the Mienai Segi. And not only a member, but also led a squad."

"Only for five years." Naruto shrugged, not giving it much importance.

"That means after three years of joining the organization you already had a squad." Kakashi could not contain the pride in his voice. He sat at his desk and crossed his arms in front of him. "I'm curious…how many forbidden jutsu did you learn?"

"I'm not really sure. About twenty, give or take. At least the ones I'm sure I can fully control."

"Is it true that members rarely used them?"

Naruto nodded, "Yes, the priority of a member is to master the jutsu for our own personal growth. We actually try to depend on our own strength and skills to complete a mission. Only in very extreme cases do we use them."

Kakashi nodded in acceptance. "Did you ever have the need to use one?"

"Only once."

"And can you teach me some?"

The blond laughed, "C'mon, sensei…I'm sure you know that we're forbidden to do so."

"I figured as much. But it never hurts to ask."

After a prolonged silence, Naruto asked "Was this the only reason you brought me here, Kakashi-sensei? To get information about the Mienai Segi?"

Kakashi looked down at his desk and said, "That's partially correct, Naruto. However, another part is personal and rather important to me." There was a moment of silence as he struggled to find the right words to say next. When he looked up, Naruto could see his lone visible eye was slightly moist. The only other time he had seen Kakashi this emotional was when he talked about Rin.

"I admit that we haven't been fair to you." There was genuine sincerity in his voice. "This village treated you poorly for a good portion of your life, and you were only accepted after you defeated Pain. Then, you saved the village again – and possibly the world – during the 4th shinobi war. For those deeds alone, everyone should have acknowledged you as a legend and begged you to forgive them for the appalling way they behaved towards you. Instead, here we are eight years later and people seem to have forgotten what you did and who you truly are – the Hero of the Leaf and son of Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."

Naruto placed a hand to the back of his neck, feeling a little uncomfortable with the emotion in the room right now. "It doesn't matter, sensei. I did what I had to do."

Kakashi rose and came around the front of his desk and stood in front of Naruto. "Of course it does. It matters to me, not only as Hokage but as your former sensei as well. You returned to the village and we once again shouldered you with a responsibility that frankly wasn't yours to bear. Most people don't care about the right or wrong of things, they just take the easy way out. However, you always cared enough to do the right thing even if that meant doing things the hard way. And you never did it for selfish reasons; it was to protect those who are precious to you – and sometimes those who weren't. We all owe you an apology and I offer you one on behalf of the entire village."

And then before a stunned Naruto, Kakashi bowed low before him.

Never in his wildest dreams would Naruto have believed that one day the Hokage of the leaf village would be bowing in front of him, offering an apology. It was a surreal moment, and frankly a little embarrassing as well.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. I accept your apology, but can we just let the past be the past? I'd rather just forget about it."

Standing up and nodding his head in acknowledgment, Kakashi walked back around his desk and sat down. "That brings me to the final reason why I brought you here. Your past."

"Excuse me?"

"Your past, Naruto. There are things about your past that even I, as Hokage don't know. But I do know that you left this village because the situation and emotional pain had become unbearable. For starters, your last fight with Sasuke was very...unpleasant for the both of you."

That was the understatement of the year. Kakashi knew that the word 'unpleasant' could never accurately describe what must have been a horrific battle, one that neither one of them had wanted to talk about. He still remembered very vividly the condition in which he'd found them both. He'd brought them to the hospital; after Sasuke had healed enough he disappeared again. Kakashi heard a rumor that Sasuke had talked with Naruto before he left to explain why he was leaving again, but no one could ever confirm it.

"And if you add in what you went through with Sakura..."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Naruto cut him off icily.

Kakashi sighed. "You should. Apparently, it still affects you."

"What good will it do sensei? It won't change the past."

"But it might help the future. Talking about it is cathartic; having someone else listen to the problem rather than attempt to rationalize it yourself can sometimes make all the difference in the world." Kakashi looked at him and said, "If you're willing to talk, I'll listen. You have my word that the conversation will never be known outside this room."

Naruto thought for a few minutes about his offer. Would it be so bad to talk with someone else who might understand? Besides Sasuke and himself, the one person who would know the most about Sakura was Kakashi.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Fine. Where should I start?"

"I usually find the beginning to be a great place. And you don't have to go into great detail about anything if you don't want to."

"Thanks for the offer, but I didn't plan on it." He looked to the side and said, "It's basically no secret how I felt about Sakura from my earliest days in Team 7. I admired her for who she was – smart, beautiful…hell, she still _is_ beautiful. She was the first girl to publicly acknowledge me as a person rather than the 'demon spawn' the rest of the village called me."

Kakashi winced when he heard that. "Go on."

"But no matter how hard I tried, she always had eyes for Sasuke. I mean, the abuse I received from her was - for lack of a better word, painful – but I thought that by taking the abuse, eventually she would see how much I cared about her and give me a chance. Give _us_ a chance."

"It doesn't work that way, Naruto. Abuse is abuse, whether physical or verbal. And intentional or not, Sakura was both."

"I know that now, sensei. But you know what it's like when you're young and in love, you think you know everything when in fact you know nothing. You become blind to reality and reason."

Kakashi could only nod.

"Well, after the…incident happened with Sasuke and he left, I thought I would try again and asked Sakura out. She accepted, but looking back on it now I'm not sure if it was out of pity or spite."

He stood and walked to the window. "For a year, I gave everything I had to her…my heart, my soul…she was the center of my world. And every day she grew a little more distant. Until the day I wanted to formalize our relationship. I'll never forget that day."

Naruto couldn't keep Sakura's cold words from coming back. "She basically told me that I was merely a stepping stone; a way to pass the time and forget the void that Sasuke had left in her heart. She said there was nothing that would ever come of us, and that what little we had – if it ever existed in the first place – was dead."

He turned, walking back to his chair. "It was at that point I realized what I had become to Sakura; an annoying fanboy who foolishly believed in an unreachable dream. Despite the pain, I still wanted to see her happy – even if it wasn't with me. So I went to find Sasuke and let him know how Sakura felt about him. After that, it would be up to him whether or not to return."

Sitting back down, he finished his tale. "Regardless of his decision, I decided to leave the village because I was terrified of losing control. The situation had become too much to bear and there was nothing here for me but pain. You know the rest of the story – I left, Sasuke returned and I decided to join the Mienai Segi."

After a tense minute or so, Kakashi said in a sad voice. "Unfortunately Naruto you learned a lesson the hard way, like many of us often do. You can't dictate who the heart will love. It only makes things more difficult in the end for everyone." He tilted his head to the side. "For what it's worth though, I honestly believe that Sakura wants to be your friend. While it's not what you may have wanted, it's certainly better than having her hate you."

Naruto sighed. "I know sensei, I know. I just wish sometimes that things could have been…different…with my life."

With a haunted look in his eyes, Kakashi replied "So do I, Naruto. So do I." Removing the privacy seals from the room so that Naruto could leave, he finished "But I think you might find that a life with Hinata can be more fulfilling and rewarding than a life with Sakura ever could have been."

Naruto pondered those words as rose from his seat and walked towards the door. "Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest, Kakashi-sensei. I think it helped a little."

"Anytime, Naruto. And if there is ever anything I can do for you, please just let me know."

Reaching out for the doorknob, Naruto stopped. After a moment of silence, he said "Actually, there is one thing that…"

The sound of something hitting the desk made him turn around.

"What's that?"

Kakashi eye smiled at him. "_**That**_, Naruto...is _**the one thing**_."

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At the same time Naruto was scheduled to meet with Kakashi, Hinata was on her way to the hospital. She needed to talk with Tsunade about a few things related to Naruto, and couldn't think of a better time than when he was busy in a meeting with the Hokage.

Knocking politely on the door, Tsunade told her to come in. Shizune was there and it looked like they were having an important meeting.

"I apologize, Lady Tsunade. I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come by later…"

"Nonsense, Hinata. Please come in; Shizune and I were merely discussing how to best implement some new battlefield medical procedures for severe traumatic limb salvage. Not a very exciting subject, but necessary nonetheless. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk with you about…Naruto. He's currently meeting with the Hokage and if it's not too much trouble..."

Tsunade interrupted her with a smile. "Of course Hinata, I'd be glad to. Shizune, could you please give us some privacy? And tell everyone that other than matters of life and death, I'm not to be disturbed." She smirked and said, "Why don't you go chase Iruka around his desk at the academy for lunch?"

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said, shocked. However, they could tell by the look on her face that she was considering it. "I'll see you in an hour or so." As she left the office, Tsunade activated the seals for privacy.

"So, before we start you have to let me see it."

"See what?"

"The ring, Hinata! What else?" Tsunade said, almost giggling with excitement.

Smiling, she held out her left hand so she could get a good look. Tsunade's breath caught in her throat at the beauty of it; marveling at how it matched Hinata's eyes as well as…

"Princess Cut, huh?"

Hinata nodded.

"So he still considers you a princess. I guess I don't give the little gaki enough credit sometimes. It's a very subtle hint as well as being incredibly sweet and romantic."

"I know. When he gave it to me I fainted."

Tsunade laughed. "Still having that problem?"

Hinata looked down, blushing. "I…I guess. I thought I'd gotten better since becoming a mother. I was sure that I would be able to hold out, and I was at first – but when he...I had been crying, and he raised his hand to wipe away my tears. When he touched my cheek it felt like my heart would burst through my chest. Then he produced the ring and bent down on one knee to propose." Her face was flushed just thinking about it. "That's when I fainted. The moment was just too much."

"That's perfectly normal, Hinata. I'm sure quite a few women would pass out if they were in the same situation."

"It's not just that, Lady Tsunade." Hinata closed her eyes, thinking of the blond. "It's everything he does! I mean, I'm not sure he's even aware that he's doing it, but it's just the way he…_naturally is_. The emotions that he brings out in me are almost addictive."

Tsunade's eyes twinkled with mirth. "You got it bad, girl. And you're obviously bothered by it, but the question is why?"

Hinata took a few breaths to calm down before opening her eyes and saying, "Sakura."

"Pardon me?"

"Sakura is what's bothering me, Lady Tsunade. It bothers me that he loves her and that she will always be first in his heart." She stood up and began pacing. "When we were younger, I always watched Naruto-kun. How just by being who he was, he made me stronger. I wanted him to see me, to notice how I felt about him. I never had the courage to tell him how I felt, until the battle with Pain." She thought briefly of the coat that Naruto had put on her that night. "But even after that, he only had eyes for Sakura."

She stopped pacing and looked at Tsunade. "When they started dating, I felt so alone. My heart hurt so badly that it felt like I was dying, but I still wanted Naruto-kun to be truly happy. So I hid my pain behind a friendly mask in front of them."

Tsunade nodded in acceptance. Everyone knew about Hinata's love for Naruto, except Naruto himself.

"But everyone who saw them together noticed how different they acted towards one another. Naruto was always kind, caring and considerate while Sakura was… well, indifferent."

The words were just rushing forth. Tsunade could tell that this had been a long time coming, and she needed to get this off her chest.

Hinata sat back down. "I don't know what she said to him when they broke up, Lady Tsunade. I confronted Sakura at her apartment and asked her what she'd said to him, and she told me to stop asking and move on to another subject because what happened between them was dead and buried." She looked into Tsunade's eyes. "We went on that mission for almost a year, and never once did we talk about what happened between the two of them. But whatever it was, I fear that it broke Naruto-kun's heart beyond repair."

"What makes you think that?"

The tears were starting to fall again as she said, "Because he told me so. That day after he saw you, we talked in the park. He told me that he believed that love isn't real."

Tsunade's voice caught in her throat. She never would have thought something so cold could come from the boy who always seemed so happy.

Hinata put her face in her hands, still crying. "Eight years ago when he left the village, I had given up all hope that he would return. And now he's back…and we're getting married. It's a wonderful dream and a frightening reality at the same time, because I don't want to be second place in his heart." She looked up, her eyes pleading. "I told Sakura that it didn't matter to me who holds his heart, but that's a lie because it does. I don't want part of him, I want all of him. Including the part that Sakura holds."

Tsunade could hear the anguish in her voice. Quickly moving around the desk, she hugged Hinata tightly and stroked her back, whispering soothing words while waiting for her to calm down. After a few minutes, Hinata's crying began to diminish and Tsunade lifted her head from her shoulder.

"Feel better?"

"A little, Lady Tsunade. But it still doesn't change how things are."

"Hinata, we both know that Naruto has been treated unfairly. Not just by Sakura, but by the people of this village as well. You know what his childhood was like." Tsunade looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "And if his heart was broken beyond repair, I sincerely doubt that he would have come back to help you. I think he's just…hurting. And he needs someone to help fix what's broken."

"But how can I do this? How can I help him find what he believes is gone forever?"

"Give him time, Hinata. There's an old saying, 'time heals all wounds'. Just be there for him, and love him no matter what happens. Be careful not to push or pressure him; he needs to come to the realization all on his own that you mean more to him than Sakura ever did. And when he does, I guarantee that you will hold his heart in the palm of your hand."

Hinata sniffed and said, "Do you really think so?"

"I know so, Hinata. The little gaki may be older and somewhat wiser, but in some ways he's still the same old Naruto. He wants someone to love and love him back. It's just that simple." Tsunade grinned wickedly and said, "And I think once he gets a taste of you, he'll find he likes it better than ramen."

"Lady Tsunade!"

She laughed and returned to her seat. "I'm just teasing, Hinata. Maybe."

It was then that an idea came to Tsunade. One she should have considered before now.

"Now that I think about it, I might have an idea on how we can jump start the process of healing Naruto's broken heart."

Hinata brightened up at hearing this. "Really? How?"

She smirked and said, "Sorry, Hinata. I think I'll save it for your wedding. You can even consider it my gift to the two of you, if you like. But you'll have to wait to find out what it is."

"But…But I want to help!"

"Sorry, this is one thing you can't help me with. You're just going to have to trust me."

Hinata chewed her lower lip in thought before nodding her head in acceptance.

"Thank you, Hinata. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade. There was one other reason that I came here." Her face became serious. "I wish to ask a favor of you."

Cocking an eyebrow, she said "A favor? What favor would that be?"

"I would like to ask if you would preside over the wedding ceremony between Naruto-kun and me. He wanted Kakashi-sensei to officiate, but I told him I had someone else in mind." Hinata bowed her head with respect. "I would be most honored if you would do it."

Tsunade was stunned speechless at the request. After a few moments she returned the bow and said, "No, the honor would be mine. And I gladly accept."

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I should be going now; Naruto-kun joins me for tea every afternoon at the Hyūga compound, and I need to be ready for him when he gets there."

She deactivated the privacy seals, and Hinata thanked her once again and left.

Tsunade rested her head on her hands, lost in thought. There was so much to do, and so little time. She definitely needed some help, and the only person she could trust with this was Shizune. _I'll put her right to work on it when she gets back from lunch_, she said to herself as one more thought raced through her mind.

_I get to marry the gaki off, huh? _She silently thanked Kami for this gift_. Maybe I'll get lucky for once and they'll give me some Naruto grandbabies before I die._

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Naruto walked back over to the desk and looked at what Kakashi had dropped in front of him. It was a mission report from eight years ago.

"Is…is this what I think it is, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto it is…it's the report folder for the mission that Tsunade sent Sakura and Hinata on eight years ago." Kakashi's lone eye turned sad. "But before you get your hopes up, I think you should open it and take a look."

He hesitated to open the file. But when he did, needless to say he was shocked.

"What the hell is this? There's practically nothing here! Everything important has been blacked out!"

"That, Naruto is called a redaction seal. It's used occasionally when the village performs highly covert missions that require the utmost secrecy. When this happens, the report is filed and a redaction seal is placed on it which blacks out the important information. I've just never seen one used on a mission that wasn't deemed S-rank or above before."

Naruto flipped through the report, reading what little information was still legible. He saw Sakura and Hinata mentioned several times throughout the document, along with the dates and total cost of the mission in addition to one more reference…_reciprocity agreement._

"What does this mean? _Reciprocity agreement?_"

"Another rarely used contract stipulation, Naruto. There are times when services are performed by other villages as a favor to Konoha. The cost of the mission is borne by the other village in exchange for future payment from us."

"Payment? What kind of payment?"

"Usually it comes in the form of mission requests. However, based on the total cost of what you see here it would take four A-rank or one S-rank mission to reimburse whatever village this was."

Naruto stared at the report, lost in thought. After a moment he said, "Is there any way to remove this…what did you call it? Reduction seal?"

Kakashi sighed. "It's called a redaction seal, Naruto. Normally it can be removed by the Hokage. However this one is a special variant; it's a blood seal that can only be removed by the person who did it in the first place or if the cost of the mission is repaid in full. In this particular case, the blood seal was placed by Tsunade."

There were a few moments of silence as they both understood the significance of that statement. Asking Tsunade was pointless because she wasn't going to remove the seal no matter what.

Naruto was getting loud and frustrated. "So where does this leave us? Leave me? I'm right back at the beginning with no more answers than I had before. Why did you even show this to me in the first place?"

"I showed you for several reasons, Naruto. First of all, I wanted you to know why I can't tell you anything about the mission – which is basically because I know only a little more than you do. Secondly, we at least have _some_ information to go by, particularly dates and a cost of the mission. And I'm sure that at some point the marker for payment will be called."

Looking confused he said, "Marker? What's that mean?"

"It's the last piece of the puzzle. When mission files like the one you hold are redacted, another copy is kept with the village that performed the services for us. This is done so that they can provide proof positive for us as to the nature of the mission, as well as services provided for fair repayment. Once verified, we perform the requested services as reimbursement." He raised his eyebrow. "This is also the reason that a redaction seal goes away when the mission is repaid in full. At that point, we would have access to the non-redacted mission folder that was held at the other village and the need for secrecy would be null and void."

He pointed at the folder. "The fact that the folder remains redacted means that the marker hasn't been called yet. And you have my word that if such a request comes across my desk you'll be the first to know." Looking up, he finished his thought. "In the meantime, I promise I won't stop looking in the mission report archives for anything that might help."

Naruto was silent for a few moments before closing the file. It was then he realized something. "How…how did you know what I was going to ask for?"

Kakashi softly said, "Because, Naruto…it's exactly what I would have asked for if I were in your position."

Naruto swallowed the lump that was in his throat. "Thank you for everything, Kakashi-sensei. I should be going now; I meet Hinata at the compound every afternoon for tea and I don't want to be late." And with that, he turned and left.

Kakashi watched him leave, the words of his promise still lingering in his mind. He wanted answers, not only for Naruto but for himself. As Hokage, he didn't like it when there were facts he didn't know and in this case the reason had a face…and it was Tsunade. Her refusal to provide him with the information he wanted aggravated him to no end, and he swore to Kami that he would do whatever it took to find out what she was hiding from him.

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Naruto was walking back to his hotel, thinking about the conversation that he just had with Kakashi. To say that he was stunned by the discussion was putting it mildly.

Kakashi was crafty and far smarter than he'd given him credit for. He hadn't expected to confess to being a member of the Mienai Segi at all. On top of that, he couldn't believe that he'd discussed briefly what had occurred between Sakura and himself eight years ago.

But it was the second and fourth part of the conversation that confused him the most.

The fact that Kakashi had admitted that the village, and more specifically Kakashi himself hadn't been fair to him for a good part of his life wasn't news at all. No, the shocking part was his sincere and heartfelt apology to him about the burdens he'd accepted, either by force or by choice along with the bow of respect.

And then there was the mission report.

It was now clear why Kakashi couldn't tell him about the mission. But what still remained unclear was the reason why it was sealed in the first place. Add to that the fact that the redaction seal seemed to be special; baa-chan had used her blood to make sure the information couldn't be revealed by anyone other than her.

Kakashi had said that the marker hadn't been called yet, and that if he heard anything Naruto would be the first to know. He had to trust him on this; otherwise the truth behind the mission would never be revealed. Unless of course, Hinata told him. And he wasn't counting on that happening anytime soon, if ever.

His thoughts turned to his fiancée. He had promised her that he wouldn't bring up the subject of Hikaru's parentage again, and he never went back on a promise. But that didn't mean that he couldn't go looking for the answers on his own…

_Son of a bitch, this line of thought was giving him a headache_. It was probably best to just forget about it for now, get home and clean up before he met with Hinata. He was sure there would be plenty of time to think about this later.

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At the same time, Hinata was walking back to the Hyūga compound thinking about the conversation she just had with Tsunade. She hadn't intended to be so emotional about the situation with Naruto, however she found that once she started talking about it she couldn't stop.

Ever since that day last week when Naruto proposed, the entire scene in front of the compound played over and over in her mind. She had wanted to say something, say anything...but found that she couldn't. Suddenly she was a 13 year old girl again, stammering words and fainting when he talked to her.

It was appalling to her that even after eight years, the strength and resolve she apparently thought she'd gained had been a fantasy, and it galled her that he could still do this to her without even thinking about it.

But at the same time, it was also exhilarating to know that her future husband was someone who she could love so much. She had always known that she would probably be forced into an arranged marriage to strengthen the clan, and that love wasn't even a consideration. But now…now she was marrying someone who she had loved as a child, and judging by the way she'd acted that night apparently still loved.

And that was what brought her to Lady Tsunade's office. She knew that the boy she'd loved was buried deep within the man he is now. She wanted to help find that lost part of him, but she was afraid that if she did find it that part would hold the name of someone…Sakura. The fear that Sakura would forever hold that piece of his heart was overwhelming.

And as that fear gnawed at her stomach, she thought of the words Tsunade had just said to her:

"_Give him time, Hinata. There's an old saying, 'time heals all wounds'. Just be there for him, and love him no matter what happens. Be careful not to push or pressure him; he needs to come to the realization all on his own that you mean more to him than Sakura ever did. And when he does, I guarantee that you will hold his heart in the palm of your hand."_

She was so unsure of those words…it would be so wonderful if he loved her as she loved him. Tsunade said he would realize it just by being there for him and giving him time. But how much time did he need? When would it happen, if ever? And what if it never happened? What would she do then? Kami, this line of thinking was driving her mad.

Hinata's thought back to that night a week ago, when this all started. The proposal, and the way Naruto had done it had been her ultimate undoing. Dropping to one knee and showing her the ring had been incredibly romantic, but wearing the coat from his fight with Pain was the most devious. He had known _**exactly**_ what it would do to her…never mind that it worked.

An idea came to her, and a wicked smile suddenly appeared on her face. Maybe it was time to turn the tables on Naruto-kun and make him stammer for once.

She started walking quickly towards the compound. She had a plan and was going to need help to make it happen. She just hoped it worked.

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A/N: Okay, once again to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's original story, welcome. I hope you liked the new content; I think about 60% of it is new stuff. But hopefully it helps with the back story; I know it will help with where I'm taking it going forward.

_**POLL TIME!**_ As many of you know, there's the upcoming wedding between Naruto and Hinata. In the original story, he keeps his mother's name Uzumaki, but I've toyed with the idea of him taking his dad's name Namikaze. When you leave a review, put a small vote in for which one you would like to see and of course most votes wins. Let's see if we can hit over 100 reviews after this chapter!

As I mentioned last chapter, I'm starting a new thing going forward where I recommend another writer's work that provides me with ideas and inspiration. The reason being is that I love giving kudos to other people if I believe their story rocks, and I hope you check it out because they should be acknowledged for what they do.

This chapter's recommendation is for author **Xavon Wrentaile**, and his epic story **A Growing Affection**. This is a complete story, but it's packed with 170 chapters of great writing. It's primarily a NaruHina fanfic, but there are other pairings in it that round out the story nicely. It will probably take you a week to read it and it will help fill in the time between FanFiction updates and the manga releases.

As always, remember that the first few chapters will be somewhat repetitive if you are coming from the old story so PLEASE bear with me while I get through them as quick as possible and get to the new stuff. Every chapter will have SOMETHING new; I'm just not sure how much.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	4. Explanations and Revelations

_**Submitted for your approval…Chapter 4. **_

Once again I need to thank Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as being my beta. Another writer offered to help out with the beta process on this, and I would like to anonymously thank him as well and I'm grateful for his help.

Just like last chapter, I want to thank everyone who left me a review. With over 100 reviews, I can say this story is exceeding my expectations very quickly and I'm gratified that I have as many followers as I do. I'm trying to release the chapters as fast as I can, but hopefully everyone can understand that life sometimes gets in the way. There's family, work and the horror of writer's block but the reviews really help. They keep me going and lift my spirits when I just want to give up, and they help with my writing. I read them all and like to personally respond to some of them, even if you didn't like what happened. So please keep them coming, make me feel good about what I'm doing and help me be a better writer. Dattebayo!

So, what's new here? Well, as usual I fixed the dialogue and flow, as well as expanding on the two conversations. I'd say about a third to a half of the chapter is new stuff, but as I promised the additional content should help explain some of the things that happened in the previous two chapters. I will say that the next chapter will have a significant amount of new stuff that will hopefully set everyone up for some original content down the road.

So remember – REVIEWS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND! Love getting them, so keep up the good work!

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_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. But is there a chance I could? **_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – You're chances are not good.**_

_**Disclaimer – You mean, not good like one in a million?**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – No, I mean like one in a billion. At least. **_

_**Disclaimer – So you're telling me there's a chance. Yeah! (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 4 – Explanations and Revelations

Hinata walked into the Hyūga compound swiftly but with purpose. She didn't have much time, and she was going to need help to put her plan into action. As she turned the last corner to her room she almost ran into her sister, Hanabi.

"Nee-san! Where have you been? Naruto will be here soon!"

"I know. I had to see…someone. About some things."

Hanabi smirked. "Were those things about…Naruto?"

"Imōto! I'm not answering that!"

The smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. "That means yes."

Hinata ignored her. While she had been shy and withdrawn, Hanabi had grown up to be more expressive and outspoken. The compound was such an emotionally cold and unforgiving place, and it always surprised her that Hanabi wasn't more like their father with his stern and rigid attitude.

"Another package from Naruto arrived while you were gone." One other personality trait Hanabi possessed was being very nosy, and from her tone of voice she recognized what her sister was hinting at.

She looked at her with piercing eyes. "And?"

Hanabi looked like the cat that ate the canary. "And what?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Hanabi. Your poker face is just as bad as Naruto-kun's. You used your byakugan on the package and peeked at my gift."

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine! I peeked! So what?"

"Because it was addressed to me! _**I**_ would like to be surprised when _**I**_ open _**MY**_ gift from _**MY**_ fiancée!"

She faltered a bit before saying, "Ummm, well…about that…"

As Hinata opened the door to her room, she noticed the package Hanabi had been talking about was waiting for her on the bed. However, it was clear that _someone_ had opened the gift and then tried to wrap it back up, doing a horrible job in the process. She turned and leveled a disapproving stare at her little sister.

"Okay, I'm sorry! It's just that when I used my byakugan and saw what it was, I just…"

"You just couldn't wait until I got home to open it. Does that sum it up?"

Hanabi suddenly found her feet very interesting. "Yes, it does. I'm sorry, I just…got jealous. I wish I had someone who would buy me gifts like Naruto does for you."

She picked up the box and said, "You will soon enough. Has father told you who your suitor is yet?"

Hanabi suddenly looked a little frightened. "No, he hasn't and that's what scares me. It could be someone really old and ugly that is only interested in the status of being married to a Hyūga." She looked at her sister. "I want to marry for love, nee-san. Not to 'strengthen the position of the clan' as father so eloquently puts it."

Hinata looked her sister with sadness in her eyes. "Love isn't always part of the equation, imōto."

"It was with you."

Her thoughts turned to her blond fiancée. "I was lucky. And Neji nii-san helped too." She opened the box, stunned at what lay inside.

Hanabi squealed, "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Slowly, Hinata lifted a jade necklace out of the box and stared at it. She walked over to the vanity and held it around her throat.

"That must have cost Naruto a fortune."

Hinata frowned. "I'm sure it did..."

"You know, gossip has been flying around town that he's squandering your dowry."

"Yes, I know."

"I wish we could just announce to the village that Naruto didn't accept it."

"Why bother? They'd just find something else to talk about behind my back."

Hanabi took the necklace from her, trying it on and looking at herself in the mirror. "You don't deserve to be treated like this. That's why I'm glad you decided to marry Naruto; I know he'll take good care of you and Hikaru." She took the necklace off and placed it back in the box. "By the way, why haven't you used anything that he sent you?"

Hinata smiled. "Funny you should say that. I've been thinking quite a bit lately about the night Naruto-kun proposed to me."

"Thinking about what, specifically? The stuttering? The fainting? Him rendering you speechless?"

Hinata looked hard at her sister. "All of it imōto, thank you very much. I may have originally thought that Naruto-kun had no idea about the emotions he brought out in me, but the more I think about it the more certain I am that he knew _EXACTLY_ what he was doing. He's far more cunning than I remember."

Her look became devious. "But I think it's time for a little payback. I want to see if I can have the same effect on him that he does on me."

Suddenly Hanabi's face lit up with understanding. She went to the door and stuck her head out. "Yui! Can you please come help us?"

"Yes, Lady Hanabi?" replied the middle-aged maid.

"Lady Hinata needs help dressing for her meeting with Naruto. We need to make sure we use everything that he's bought for her and that when he sees her, he's rendered speechless by her beauty." She cocked an eyebrow. "Think we can make that happen?"

She immediately understood. "Let's get started, Lady Hinata!"

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Naruto walked down the street towards the Hyūga compound. It had become a daily ritual to have tea with Hinata in the afternoon; he didn't know why but being in her presence provided him with a greater sense of inner peace than his morning meditation sessions ever did.

Irony was a cruel mistress sometimes; he had joined the Mienai Segi all those years ago because the pain had become unbearable and he wanted to forget the cause of it. It seemed the surest way to put an end to his life, however instead of the death he longed for he became far stronger. He'd accepted more missions, thinking that would be enough to kill him...but they quickly became much too easy. The pain he'd longed to forget grew worse from the horrors he'd seen and he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a good night's sleep. When he closed his eyes, the memories of the atrocities he'd witnessed came to him in the form of horrific nightmares and more often than not he woke up drenched in sweat and shaking uncontrollably.

Now he wanted to forget everything he'd done and seen. Wipe the memories from his mind and go back to the beginning. But he knew that was impossible at this point.

He'd had plenty of time to think about his decision to agree to marry Hinata over the past few days, and especially about the night he had proposed to her. He'd been desperate to make sure that she was so overwhelmed by the moment that she couldn't possibly say no. He'd used everything he could think of to his advantage; the coat and getting down on one knee were icing on the cake. And even though he had originally felt proud about what he did it quickly turned to guilt when he came to the conclusion that she deserved better than his calculating and cunning performance. She deserved truth and honesty.

And the truth of the matter was that he needed her in his life. She possessed an air of innocence and beauty that soothed his subconscious and calmed his soul. The overwhelming desire to protect her at all costs was something he hadn't come to terms with yet.

An image of his raven-haired fiancée appeared in his mind. He wondered why he had this constant desire to protect her. Was it because she seemed so frail? No, he knew she had strength both inside and out. Was it because she was so beautiful? Maybe, but that couldn't be the only reason. It _shouldn't_ be the only reason. Maybe it was because of…

Memories from his life had come back, more often than not lately. But while before it had been of horrors and atrocities he'd seen, they were now of Hinata and when she'd been there for him. She'd watched him when they were in the academy together, protected him when he'd fought Pain…and confessed her love for him.

There were other memories, but that was the one that stung the most. After she defended him against Pain, almost dying in the process he'd never had the courage to face her and talk about it. Not even once did he have the guts to sit and analyze the magnitude of her confession. He'd foolishly continued to chase after Sakura, failing to appreciate what was always within his reach. She had loved him once and he'd ruined it, hurting her in the process.

He knew what that pain felt like; it was so powerful that it had driven him to find his death. It had driven Hinata into the arms of another man, looking for the comfort she'd wanted from him and he selfishly never gave to her. She had borne this man's child, and he had left her – causing her more pain and suffering. In a way, he was responsible for that as well because of his inaction all those years ago.

And maybe that was where the need to protect her came from. It was the need to protect her from another heartbreak, and the desire to love her now like she had loved him all those years ago. Even if he had to share that love with Hikaru's father…whoever it was.

Now he was at a crossroads in his life. Hinata deserved the truth, and he needed to tell her of his association with the Mienai Segi. He couldn't hide it forever because sooner or later she would see the marks on his arms and ask about them, but he was afraid that if he told her she would decide not to marry him and call off the engagement. That one singular fear was overwhelming, because he didn't know if he wanted to go on without her in his life.

He was halfway inside the Hyūga compound when he abruptly stopped. He'd heard someone training intensely not far from him, and it sounded like they weren't using the Gentle Fist style. Interested, he walked over to where the noise was coming from.

It turned out to be Hikaru in a clearing surrounded by trees. Naruto watched him silently as he used a wooden training dummy to practice his blocks and striking techniques. He hadn't really had an opportunity to talk with Hikaru since announcing the engagement to his mother. He'd thought he was about seven or eight years old, and Hinata had confirmed that. In the sunlight, his tousled red hair reminded him of an out of control fire, and Hinata had told him his eyes were gray and changed color according to his mood.

Seeing him now, he had to admit the boy had innate abilities and used skills far beyond what was normal for his age. It was apparent that he had great potential.

Hikaru was bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily from the effort he'd made. Without turning around, he said "How long are you gonna stand there watching?"

Naruto chose to ignore the somewhat hostile tone of the boy. "You're very good."

Hikaru turned to look at him. "I don't need you to tell me."

The blond smiled inwardly. So, the redhead wanted to let him know where he stood with him. "I agree. However, others must recognize your abilities just as you recognize them in yourself."

Hikaru continued with his hostile tone after a tense moment of silence. "You're not my father, and you never will be."

And there it was. Somehow he'd thought this would happen and he wasn't surprised, considering that Hikaru was very protective of his mother.

"You're absolutely correct. I can never take his place."

"That's right. My mom told me that my dad is the greatest ninja that ever lived and I wanna be just like him."

Naruto looked at him, surprised. Hinata had spoken to her son about his father.

"And my mom loves him. She's told me so."

That information was like a slap in his face. "I'm quite sure of that."

The redhead was looking at him defiantly. He had to be very careful with his next words; he was positive that they would decide what kind of relationship he would have with Hikaru going forward.

He tried letting the boy know he sympathized with him. "I never grew up with a father, either."

This seemed to spark an interest in Hikaru and his gaze softened a bit. "Never?"

"He died the day I was born. My mother, too."

His aggressive stance almost disappeared. "Who took care of you?"

"Nobody. No one wanted to, so I took care of myself."

He saw Hikaru's gaze turn sad with empathy and waited patiently for him to ask the question he knew was coming.

"Wasn't it hard? Weren't you afraid? Of being alone like that?"

"It was very hard, and there were many times I was afraid. However, I tried to ignore it and look forward to my dream, hoping things would change in the future."

"What was your dream?"

"I always wanted to be Hokage." Naruto smiled, remembering the words Itachi had told him long ago. "Someone once told me, 'It's not the one who becomes Hokage that will be acknowledged by everyone, it's the one who is acknowledged by everyone who becomes Hokage.' Hopefully that still holds true."

Hikaru looked at him questioningly. "He sounds like a very smart man. What happened to him?"

"He died."

His eyes turned sad. "I'm sorry." Then his gray eyes lit up. "Mom told me that you still want to be Hokage. She said you'd be really good at it."

"Really? She said that?"

"Yes. She said you're honest, fair and you always try to see the positive in every situation." And, he added in a conspiratorial tone, "She also said you helped oji-san to change his views on his fate and after that, he treated mom much better. I can see how much he cares about her and he's always protecting her. But now I know that you were the one that helped him to be a better person."

Embarrassed, Naruto placed a hand to the back of his neck, "Well, your uncle is a very smart man. I'd like to think that sooner or later he would have changed on his own."

Hikaru looked him straight in the eyes. "Mom also told me that your nindō is that you never go back on your word. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is. I never go back on a promise. Dattebayo."

A heavy silence fell upon them both. Hikaru put his hands in his pockets while shuffling his feet.

"I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean to be so angry with you."

Naruto smiled. He knelt down in front of Hikaru and replied, "Apology accepted. How about we make a deal? I know I'll never take your father's place; he's the only one who can do that. But I'll take care of you and your mother and always protect you both. I'll be there for you if you need anything, and you'll have my full support and encouragement in whatever you do." He extended his hand. "This is my promise of a lifetime to you. Deal?"

For several seconds Hikaru stared at the hand silently, stunned at the offer that being presented to him. He wasn't stupid; he knew that he and his mother were spurned by the entire village because he didn't have a father. His classmates teased him constantly, sometimes calling him offensive names. So when his mother had given him the news of her engagement to Naruto, Hikaru refused to believe it was real out of fear of being disappointed.

He wanted to be accepted by everyone, and he wanted a father more than anything. Now Naruto was making the promise of a lifetime to him, and he'd just told him that he never goes back on a promise.

The blond was shocked when Hikaru didn't take his hand, but instead jumped on him and hugged him. He returned the hug, feeling the boy's body shaking with joy and he came to the conclusion that he didn't need blood ties to Hikaru in order to feel kinship with him. He vowed that he would protect him always, even if his life depended on it.

.

* * *

.

"Here he comes!"

Hinata couldn't help feeling nervous at her sister's exclamation.

"I can't wait to see his reaction when he sees you."

Hinata stood next to her sister in the courtyard at the end of the path. Looking up, she inhaled sharply when she saw Naruto coming down the road...with Hikaru on his shoulders. Naruto was smiling while Hikaru was grinning from ear to ear, laughing happily and enjoying the ride. Time seemed to slow down as she watched them intently. Something warm was growing within her; a new desire, a new longing filling her heart…

Hanabi looked at her sister and noticed the change. Puzzled, she turned her eyes toward Hinata's line of sight watching the scene unfold. _Something's happening_, she thought to herself. _But what?_

"What are you both watching?"

Startled, both sisters jumped in surprise and turned to look at their cousin.

"N...nothing." Hinata stammered.

Neji narrowed his eyes, looking down the path and saw Naruto coming with Hikaru. He could sense there was something going on here but was unable to place exactly what it was. Once again he turned his eyes back to Hinata, staring at her pearly eyes and trying to see just what she was hiding from him.

The situation was becoming uncomfortable for Hanabi. Neji was looking at Hinata with a very piercing stare, and her sister was more pale than usual. Hoping to break the tension, she asked "What's going on here?"

Neither Hinata or Neji said anything. They continued to look intently at each other, waiting for someone to break down under the intense pressure of their gaze.

Naruto finally made it to the end of the path with Hikaru, which was a relief to Hanabi. She jumped at the opportunity to relieve the tension in the air between her sister and Neji.

"Naruto-kun!" Hanabi exclaimed, smiling. "I'm so happy to see you!"

But Naruto couldn't hear her. He lowered Hikaru from his shoulders and set him on the ground, still mesmerized by the vision that stood before him.

He swallowed hard and asked, "Hinata?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

He blinked, not believing what he saw. He'd always known Hinata had a unique beauty, but that paled in comparison to what was before him now. And right now, she seemed like the most beautiful creature in the whole universe. He was finding it difficult to concentrate, as his body fought to suppress the emotions that she was bringing forth in him.

She was wearing one of the kimonos he had given her, and it hugged her figure suggestively. The jade necklace he had sent her today adorned her neck, and her black hair was done up in an elaborate hairstyle, held in place by a pair of pearl combs which he also had sent her.

Neji smiled at the scene while taking Hikaru's hand in his own and motioning for Hanabi to follow him.

"Hinata..." He raised his hands and dropped them again at his sides. Her name was all he could say since rational thought appeared beyond his ability at the moment.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

He didn't say anything. He _couldn't_ say anthing. He just stared at her.

She couldn't help but smile, knowing he'd been rendered speechless. _Check and mate, Naruto-Kun _she thought to herself. "The tea is ready to be served as usual." She turned around to walk toward the sunroom where her family always took their afternoon tea when suddenly he stopped her, grabbing her arm and turning her around.

As their eyes met, she was shocked by the hunger of his gaze. Never in her wildest dreams did she think herself capable of driving a man to the unbridled passion she saw before her and she was suddenly very aware of herself, as his blue eyes seemed to devour her.

Naruto, for his part had lost the ability to think clearly. He didn't know what was happening, but whatever it was he was close to losing control as he tried to suppress the urge to take her then and there. The kimono she was wearing couldn't hide the delicate curves of her body, as his hand rose up to lovingly caress her chin before traveling along her cheek and finally settling on the nape of her neck, gently but firmly grasping it. She trembled and tried to flee but he stopped her.

She tensed, scared at what she had created. His blue eyes had changed to dark cobalt, and he looked at her like trapped prey. Her breathing quickened and her mouth suddenly felt dry. She licked her lips; and that gesture was almost Naruto's undoing as she felt his body shiver with anticipation and she moaned with fear...or was it excitement? Her heart was threatening to burst through her chest, and it demanded something to quell the raging desire within her.

He pulled her close to his body, unable to contain himself as he grazed his nose on the soft skin of her cheek, inhaling her sweet scent of lavender and cinnamon. His lips traveled down to meet hers and lightly brushed against them before kissing her.

Hinata lost her will to flee in a sea of pleasure, as she pressed herself against him. She never thought she would get to know a thrill like this, and she arched her back and offered him her lips.

He demanded entrance to her delicious mouth and she complied, as his tongue danced with hers expertly. She was struggling not to faint from the sensation because she wanted to continue experiencing what the blond was awakening inside her. Incited by the passion of the kiss, she raised her arms to encircle his neck and he in turn lowered his to her waist.

Naruto was becoming a slave to his primal desires. Mentally he was standing on a cliff, about to fall over the edge and lose himself in what Hinata was offering. Just as he was about to take that last step, an image of Jiraiya popped into his head…

'_He, he, he! This will be great for my research! It's gold, I tell ya! Pure gold!'_

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him and he realized that if he continued, he wouldn't be able to stop. He respected her far too much to take advantage of her, and he still needed to talk with her about the Mienai Segi. Reluctantly, he parted from her lips and whispered into her ear, "I think it's best if we stop here and have our tea."

That brought her back to reality. "Oh! Okay." And she immediately blushed with shame.

Naruto placed both hands on her face in order to look into her eyes. "Hinata, please don't be embarrassed. It's just that you're so beautiful, that I might…and…and I can't…." The words were in his head, but he was having a hard time actually verbalizing them. Taking a few deep breaths, he fought to calm himself down before Kurama decided to add his own little commentary.

_**What's the matter, kit? Is it bothering you that you're the one stammering like a teenage schoolgirl for a change and not her? Or is it the fact that you can't get the picture of her naked body out of your head?**_

_I do not have a picture of her naked body in my head, perverted fox!_

_**Oh, yeah? How about now?**_ And Kurama dug up the memory of Hinata dancing naked by the waterfall from the bikouchu beetle mission. Her silhouette highlighted by the moon, the water glistening off her…

_Damn it, Kurama! Not now! Can't you at least wait until after the wedding?_

He heard snickering in his mind. _**No, I can't. Doing it now is much more fun because I get to watch you struggle against your baser instincts.**_

Kurama was enjoying the situation far too much. He needed to get away from the…images in his head and bring the conversation back around to Hinata. He closed his eyes for a moment to focus his thoughts before opening them back up and saying, "Hinata, if we keep going I won't be able to stop. I can't allow that…not now, not like this."

Hinata stared into his eyes, which had now become bright blue. "I understand. And thank you...I think..."

He laughed. "I'm not sure what just happened there, but I haven't felt that helpless since I was a kid and couldn't control the Kyuubi." Then a thought came to him and his eyes grew wide. "Wait a minute, Hinata. Did…did you do that on purpose?"

She smiled sweetly and her face took on an air of innocence. "Would I do that to you, Naruto-kun?"

His eyes narrowed._ Yes, you would. I'm willing to bet you were getting back at me for the night of the proposal and you knew exactly what you were doing. People think I'm the fox, but from what just happened it's apparent that __you__ really are._ He realized that she could be crafty and devious when she wanted to be, and he made a mental note not to forget that going forward as he reached out and grasped her hand.

They entered the room and his eyes lit up when he saw the tea and confections Hinata had prepared for them. He waited for her to sit down at the table with her legs beneath her, joining her soon after.

She began to prepare the tea, still blushing slightly at what had transpired only a few minutes ago between them. When she finished serving, he smiled and popped one of the sweets in his mouth.

"I don't know why someone hasn't asked to marry you by now, Hinata. You're not only a wonderful person, but a talented cook as well."

She sat with her hands in her lap. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

He was reluctant to ask the next question, but he knew they needed to talk about it. "Hinata, I need to know something. How...normal do you want our marriage to be?"

"What do you mean by normal, Naruto-kun?"

"I mean normal, physically. As in...relations."

"Oh!" She blushed red and asked, "Do...do you want it to be normal?"

"I asked what you want, not what I want."

She grasped her kimono with her hands, wishing she could vocalize her desire. She wanted it to be a normal marriage so badly. "Naruto-kun, why do you ask this? I...I need to know."

He sighed. "I won't deny that I find you attractive. And very beautiful." Her face became a deeper shade of red. "And I very much want it to be normal. But I understand if you don't want to out of respect to Hikaru's father."

Her face came up sharply, not understanding. "Out of respect to Hikaru's father?"

"Yes. Hikaru said you still love him."

"Oh! That..." She didn't think Hikaru would remember; she'd told him a few years ago when he asked about his father. She glanced sideways and said, "I...I want our marriage to be normal."

"You don't have to if..."

This time, she didn't allow him to finish his sentence and with all the courage she could muster said "But I do. I find you...attractive as well. And very handsome." Her cheeks turned crimson and she looked down again.

He couldn't help smile. Did she really think so? It was hard to think of himself as being particularly attractive, much less handsome. He silently weighed Hinata's words before saying, "You're right, a normal marriage would be best. This way, we can leave behind the past and forget the heartbreak we've both suffered."

The statement was like a dagger in her heart. She cursed herself silently for being so naive; of course he was still thinking about Sakura. Tsunade's words earlier that day said to give him time, but Hinata wasn't sure how long she could hold out. Every word seemed to chip away at her self esteem, and the thought that she would never be as important to Naruto as the pink-haired beauty haunted her.

Naruto didn't miss how Hinata's face turned sad. Had she loved Hikaru's father that much? He revised his thought; she still loved him. He wished the asshole was in front of him right now so he could give him a piece of his mind. How could anyone hurt a person as sweet and kind as Hinata? And why did he have the sudden urge to beat the living shit out of the guy? He couldn't possibly be jealous of what Hinata felt for Hikaru's father...could he?

He gave himself a mental shake. "Hinata, there's something else I have to talk with you about."

Her face came up quickly. She could sense the fear in his voice as he looked at her in silence. "Naruto-kun? Is something wrong?"

"Have you ever heard of the Mienai Segi?"

For several seconds Hinata was silent, confused by his unexpected question. "I once overheard Kiba and Shino talking about it. They think the organization is a myth..."

Her eyes became wide when Naruto rolled up his sleeves to expose his arms and said, "It's not a myth. I was a member of the organization."

Mesmerized, she raised her hand and traced the outline of the tattoo on his left arm. "Strength," she murmured before continuing to his right arm. "Discipline."

He nodded, "The two basic principles of the organization."

Hinata waited, sensing that there was more.

"At first I joined them sure that I would find my death."

She didn't need to know the reason behind that statement. That reason had a name, and it was Sakura Haruno Uchiha.

"It's hard for me to admit, but I'm not very proud of choosing the coward's way out." He looked at her with pleading eyes and added, "But hopefully you can understand why, Hinata. I mean, you know me better than anyone, and you also know the pain of having the one you love not return your feelings."

Her eyes became moist with unshed tears. She was very aware of what it felt like to love someone and not get it in return. The love of a particular blond with blue eyes.

"When Sakura..." He stopped, taking a deep breath. He wondered why it still hurt to talk about it. "When she didn't accept my marriage proposal, it was..."

"Painful." She finished for him.

He nodded and continued, "I was going to say devastating but that works too. At first, that was my main reason for joining the organization. But when I began training with them, I discovered there was something very important they could give me."

"What was it?" she asked truly interested in his answer.

His eyes looked lost as he said, "They taught me how to control my emotions. After my last battle with Sasuke in the Valley of the End...Only Sasuke knows what happened and what I did. I can't remember anything at all because I let the anger consume me and..."

Hinata looked at him, her heart threatening to burst. She had known about his trials as a child and heartbreaks as an adult and the urge to tell him that everything would be alright, to reach out and hold him was so strong that it was taking everything she had to remain in place.

He continued after a short silence, "I wanted to tell you this before we got married. It's only fair that you know in case you no longer wanted..."

"No!" she shouted, and then feeling her face flushed by her outburst, she told him firmly, "No. I know who you are, Naruto-kun. You are a kind, brave and considerate man."

He swallowed hard. "Hinata, you don't know what I've witnessed these past few years. The things I've had to do..."

"I don't care. I want to marry you." And then her face softened, her lips curving up in a sweet smile, "I would be honored to be your wife."

He stared at her, stunned. She truly wanted to marry him. "Thank you, Hinata."

"You don't have to thank me. You've accepted many people for who they are, just as you are with me. Why shouldn't I do the same with you?"

He stood up and walked around the table, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. His eyes roamed her face as his finger traced the soft outline of her cheek. He was fascinated with her skin…it was so clear, so pale, that she seemed to glow no matter how bright it was. Her eyes were so deep they compelled him to fall into their unknown depths. But above all, he loved her smile the most. It was so full of happiness and joy that it could light up a dark room.

Hinata was a beautiful gift, one he knew he didn't deserve but couldn't let go. A strange shiver shook him, as he realized that without her in his life he would be completely lost. He had been a complete and utter asshole all of those years ago, and he vowed that he would do whatever it took to make it up to her. And in that moment, he swore that he would help her forget the jerk who hurt her and erase every memory she had of the heartless coward.

As he watched her, she closed her eyes, embarrassed at his scrutiny. He smiled at her and said, "I think we've both had enough surprises for one day. Perhaps I should go. Would you walk with me to the entrance?"

She nodded, and he took her hand as they retraced their steps to the front of the compound. Once there, he fought the desire to claim her lips once again and kissed her forehead tenderly instead.

"Thank you for the tea. See you tomorrow, my sweet Hinata."

Hinata saw him leave, a little disappointed. She wished he'd kissed her on the lips one more time before he'd left...

.

* * *

.

Sakura was hiding in the bushes across the street from the entrance to the Hyūga compound. Coincidentally, she had arrived at the precise moment Naruto and Hinata were saying goodbye to one another. She had to admit they made a lovely couple; he with his tanned skin, blue eyes and blond hair, and she with her pale skin, white eyes and long black hair.

"They look great together, don't they?"

Sakura gave a small jump, startled. Neji had somehow sneaked up behind her, and she hadn't noticed him. "Neji! You scared me."

He stared at her, not buying her innocent behavior. "Who's the one hiding in the bushes, lurking like a thief?

"Who do you think you're calling a thief?" she asked aggressively.

He didn't like the tone of her voice or her accusation. "Why are you here, Sakura-san?"

She noticed his purposeful use of the san suffix. "I need to talk to Hinata..."

"About Hikaru. Am I correct?"

Sakura's face turned pale and she asked, "What about him?"

"Don't worry, Hinata hasn't said anything to me. Yesterday, I once again attempted to have a conversation with her but she continues to remain stubborn and uncooperative."

Sakura just stared at him, holding her breath.

"But don't make the mistake of thinking I'm as dense as others in this village. I will eventually find out what the two of you are hiding, no matter how long it takes."

A subdued Sakura watched him walk into the compound. Hinata was still out front looking in the direction Naruto had left, fingers still touching her lips. She walked up to the entrance, wishing she could be anywhere else but here however this was a conversation that she needed to have.

"Hello, Hinata."

She turned and said coldly, "Sakura-san."

Sakura flinched at the harshness of her voice. She knew she deserved that, and much more. "Can...Can I talk to you?

"About what, exactly? Do you plan on making more derogatory comments about Naruto-kun?"

"No! No..." She dropped her head and said, "Look, Hinata. I didn't come here to fight. I just...need to talk. Is there someplace private we can go?"

Hinata said nothing and just stood there impassively, arms crossed in front of her.

Sakura looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Hinata? Please?"

Even though Hinata still didn't trust her, there appeared to be sincerity in her voice and she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Fine, we can talk in the courtyard. Follow me."

They walked into the compound, sat down in the courtyard and Hinata turned to Sakura and said, "Okay, we're here. What exactly did you want to say?"

Sakura's lower lip trembled. Her whole body shuddered as she softly said, "I wanted to say...I'm sorry, Hinata. I'm so sorry. For everything."

And suddenly, Sakura burst into tears. For several seconds, Hinata looked stunned but soon recovered and embraced Sakura, as a wave of sorrow overtook the pink haired girl. The brunette rubbed her back, her body shuddering as she shed her grief. When the sobs began to subside, Hinata pulled her away from her shoulder and asked, "Sakura, you just said you were sorry and I could tell that you were sincere about that. But do you even know what you're sorry about?"

She sniffled and said, "Yes, I do. The last few years I've pretty much been an insufferable ass, unconcerned with anything else but myself and Sasuke because I thought our happiness was the only thing that mattered."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "And what about Naruto-kun?"

Sakura winced. "I'm...I'm sorry about that too. But I think I the jyuuken strike you gave me that night was a bit much."

Hinata was shocked. "A bit much? You've _got_ to be kidding me, Sakura. Allow me to put this in perspective for you. Let's say you came to me before you and Sasuke had gotten married, and I told you that you can't marry him because he doesn't love you. That regardless of how much you loved him, his heart would always belong to someone else…_like Karin_. And I told you this not just once, _but many times over_." Hinata looked fiercely into her eyes. "Imagine how you would feel if I told you that he was only using you to further his position in the village, and that the only real motive _'the teme'_ had for marrying you was to restore his clan and that no matter how hard you tried, he would _never truly love you_." She sat back and crossed her arms in front of her chest again. "Tell me, Sakura - what would you have done to me if I had said those things to you about Sasuke?"

She thought about that for a moment and then looked at Hinata, defeated. "Okay, you're right. If you had done that, I'd have punched you into next week and not thought twice about it. You were justified in what you did."

"Do you really mean that?"

Sakura sighed. "Yes, I do. I admit that I was being selfish. You have the right to live your life and be happy too." Her voice began to waver as rhetorically asked, "Who could be a better husband to you than Naruto?"

Hinata noticed she was about to start crying again. "Sakura, are you okay?"

As the tears began to fall she replied, "No...No, I'm not."

She took Sakura's hands in her own. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

"It's…It's Sasuke ..." She said as her crying eyes watched the fish in the koi pond.

After a few moments of silence, Hinata asked, "What about Sasuke?"

Sakura laughed sarcastically at that statement and then heaved a heavy sigh, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "That's a loaded question. I'm not even sure I can fully answer that." And after a brief pause, "It's just that he's..."

"Sasuke." Hinata finished with a tiny smile.

Sakura's green eyes fell on her. "Yes. Overall, I can't really complain about him. He's thoughtful and considerate, even though he has a peculiar way of showing it. And it's hard to demand anything more from him, knowing what he went through as a child..."

Hinata nodded, understanding the truth behind that statement. But she still couldn't help thinking of Naruto, who lost his entire family, never had anyone to love or take care of him yet somehow turned out so different than Sasuke...

"Most of the time I think everything is fine." Sakura continued. "I know he loves me in his own way, but then there are times..."

"He says things to make you question if he really loves you."

Sakura gave her a wounded look. "You don't know how close to the truth you were before, Hinata. He's just so obsessed with the whole _'restore the Uchiha clan'_ thing!"

"But Sakura, you knew this when you married him. His whole clan was wiped out, so it's only natural..."

"Fine, I can understand that. But for once, I wish he didn't see me as some sort of baby assembly line, spitting out kid after kid. I mean, can you see me surrounded by a dozen or so little Sasuke's? Being stuck in the house, constantly fat and bloated from being pregnant? Dealing with morning sickness and chronic back pain for the next twenty years while he enjoys the perfect excuse of getting out of the house by going on missions?"

Hinata suddenly had a scene of Sakura sitting in the middle of a brood of Uchiha, yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs for them to shut up and give her a few moments of peace and quiet. The image was hilarious and she couldn't help but giggle.

"Hinata! It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry Sakura, but it is." She turned serious again. "Have you tried talking to him yet? About how you feel?"

"I've tried, but the conversation never gets that far. When we talk, all I ever hear him say is..." She adopted the emotionless monotone Sasuke used and said, "_Did you take a pregnancy test yet?_"

"I'm not trying to sound like him, but have you yet?"

She sighed. "No, at least this time I haven't. I'm scared it'll be negative again. The last time it was, we had a horrible argument and screamed back and forth at each other for over an hour."

She hadn't noticed anything different between them when she'd visited the apartment. "How...how long have you guys been like this?"

"Almost a year." She murmured.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura."

"I'm sorry too. Being around Sasuke, I've taken on some of his personality traits, especially being cold and distant to everyone - especially to you, and I apologize. I've tried hiding what's been going on because I'm embarrassed about the whole thing. Failing to be what Sasuke wants, not being able to make him love me..."

"Sakura!" Hinata interrupted her angrily. "That's enough. None of that is true and you know it."

More than anyone, Hinata could easily relate to what Sakura was thinking. She'd wallowed in the depressing feeling of not being 'adequate' enough for her father too many times in the past. No matter how hard she tried, she always found herself begging for scraps of his affection in the end. In some ways, Sasuke and her father were very much alike and the thought filled her with so much anger that if Sasuke were there right now, she'd jyuuken his body into next week.

The giggle from Sakura made her realize she'd said that last part out loud. She felt embarrassed by it but was glad that it made Sakura laugh.

"Sorry about that."

"No, you're right. In some ways he's just like your father." Sakura winked and added, "Maybe getting his ass kicked would remove the stick that he has wedged up there. But since I'm his wife I get to go first."

Hinata smiled. "That sounds fair to me."

Sakura smiled back. "Let's promise not to argue again."

"I know what you mean. I missed these moments between the two of us."

They hugged, and Sakura said "Now, let's forget about me for a while. Tell me, how are things going with you and Naruto?"

"Good. At least I think so..."

"Come on, Hinata. I saw the way he was looking at you when he left. He was eyeing you like a bowl of miso ramen from Ichiraku's."

Hinata grinned evilly. "You should have seen him earlier when he joined me for tea. He couldn't form a coherent sentence."

Sakura smiled. "Good for you! Make _him_ squirm for once." Her look became serious. "I'm guessing you guys have agreed to have a 'normal' marriage."

"Yes, we have." She chewed her lower lip and said, "But I'm not sure...what to do..."

"About what? Oh! You mean…" she said, suddenly understanding what Hinata was trying to say. "Don't worry about that. I'll give you some pointers and if you follow them to the letter, Naruto won't even know what hit him. I promise he won't notice anything else but you."

"Are you sure?"

"With Naruto? Absolutely, positively one hundred percent sure." Her look softened and she said to Hinata, "You're going to have to tell him."

"I know! I know…" Hinata put her head in her hands and said in a frightened voice, "You have no idea how many times I've thought of how to tell him about it. And in every one of those scenarios, I see his blue eyes staring back at me with hatred. If that ever happened, Sakura…I couldn't stand it."

"Hinata, after what I just saw at the front gate there's one thing I can say for certain…Naruto could never hate you. He might get angry with you, sure. But I'm positive that he would never hate you."

After a few seconds of silence, Sakura said "However, I certainly know who he _**would**_ hate..."

.

* * *

.

A/N: Okay, once again to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's original story, welcome. I hope you like what I'm doing with the story and the new content I'm adding. Hopefully it's helping keep things fresh and expanding the back story; I know it will help with where I'm taking it going forward.

_**POLL RESULTS!**_ As many of you know, I tried to do a poll last chapter about which name Naruto should take at the upcoming wedding between him and Hinata. Since this is my first fanfic, I completely forgot that you could do polls in my profile and a reader mentioned it to me in a PM. By the time I got it set up, most everyone had either left their ballot in the review or sent me a PM on it. And to make matters worse, I didn't even add another obvious choice, which was to use both (Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze). I will say, though that I've tallied the votes so far and as of right now there's a tie between Namikaze and Uzumaki Namikaze.

I don't have a story recommendation for this chapter, as all of the new content came straight from me. I do have one already for next chapter, so stay tuned.

As always, remember that the first few chapters will be somewhat repetitive if you are coming from the old story so PLEASE bear with me while I get through them as quick as possible and get to the new stuff. Every chapter will have SOMETHING new; I'm just not sure how much.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

.

Serious Sam


	5. The End of the Longest Day

_**It's amazing, It's colossal, It's…Chapter 5! **_

Okay, standard thanks once again to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as to my anonymous beta for his help and support.

Even though I fixed quite a bit of dialogue and flow last chapter, there still wasn't a lot of new content. I will say to all my readers that we are about 3 chapters out from all new stuff. I need to get through the wedding first, and that will be the next few chapters – it originally was just one chapter, but I'm adding a bunch of stuff so it will be at least two chapters long when I'm done with the rewrite.

As always, I want to thank everyone who left me a review. I've officially hit the 140 mark with those, and I'm loving the roller coaster ride I'm on writing this story. Hopefully, I'm getting better at this and my writing is improving and as I said before, this story is exceeding my expectations very quickly and I'm gratified that I have as many followers as I do.

So, what's new here? Well, as usual I fixed the dialogue and flow. I kept two of the ideas from the original story but expanded on them, and added some all new stuff at the end. I'd say about 60% or more is all new stuff here, and as usual I'm hoping not only does the additional content help things out, that the new content sets up for some deep plot lines. I will say that the next chapter will have a significant amount of new stuff that will hopefully set everyone up for some original content down the road.

So remember – REVIEWS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND! I received about 30 for the last chapter, but let's see if we can get more for this one. Love getting them, so keep up the good work!

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, but I love writing this story!**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Before you write the next chapter, there is something you should know. I am your fathers, brothers, nephews, cousins former roommate.**_

_**Disclaimer – What does that make us?**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 5 – The End of The Longest Day

Naruto walked along the streets of Konoha, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. The conversation with Hinata had been…refreshing and enlightening, to say the least. He had gone to see her today fearing rejection, and had come out with acceptance – not just from Hinata, but from Hikaru as well. It had lifted his spirits tremendously, and he was beginning to believe that he would finally find the happiness in his life that had eluded him for so long.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl from his stomach. When he'd seen Hinata at the compound, the first thought that entered his mind had nothing to do with tea or sweets – not that he was complaining, of course. Then he'd become distracted by the subject matter regarding a 'normal' marriage, and finally the conversation about the Mienai Segi. Between all of that, he'd had one cup of tea and one of the sweets that she'd prepared. He needed food, badly.

His first thought was definitely Ichiraku ramen. He'd missed old man Teuchi's cooking during his time away from the village, but before he could head out in the direction of the tiny restaurant, he heard someone shout…

"Hey, Naruto! Is that you?"

He turned around, and coming towards him were Kiba, holding the hand of someone he assumed was his girlfriend, and Shino. Despite the fact that they were taller and more muscular, both looked exactly the same as he remembered them.

"Hey Kiba, Shino. Nice to see you guys. How have you been?"

"Are you kidding? After eight years of not seeing you, 'how have you been' is all we're going to get?" And Kiba pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back. "It's real good to see you, big guy. You've been away far too long." He turned and said, "Naruto, this is my girlfriend Mina. Mina, I'd like you to meet one of my best friends, Naruto Uzumaki."

Mina looked at him and her eyes grew wide. "Naruto Uzumaki? The hero of the Leaf Village?"

Naruto rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed but thinking about Kakashi's words earlier that day. Nice to know that there were still people who remembered what he'd done, after all. "Yes, that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mina." He turned, nodding his head and said, "Nice to see you too, Shino."

"And you as well, Naruto."

_Still a smooth talker, aren't you Shino?_ He turned back to Kiba. "Where's Akamaru? You guys are usually together everywhere you go."

"He's home resting right now. He got injured during our mission, so while Hana is treating his wounds, I gave him the night off."

Naruto nodded in agreement and asked, "So, what brings the three of you out this way?"

Kiba said, "Well, since we just got back in town Shino and I decided to get some dinner with Mina." At that point, Naruto's stomach growled again. "Wow, if Akamaru were here I'd swear that was him I just heard. You must be starving." His face brightened up. "Hey, why don't you join us? We're heading to Akimichi Barbecue and everyone else is meeting us there. We can catch up on things."

Naruto thought briefly about the offer. It would be nice to see everyone again, and he'd been looking for an opportunity to reunite with his classmates anyway.

He smiled and said, "That sounds good. Lead the way."

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Everyone was waiting for them in a private booth at the restaurant. When Naruto walked up, they all shouted with joy at seeing their friend again. Choji gave him a big bear hug, while Ino and Tenten were more reserved, each giving him a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. The biggest surprise however was the last person of the group to hug him who he didn't recognize, until...

"Naruto, it is good to see you! I am glad that the rumors of your flames of youth being extinguished are untrue!"

"Bushy brow? Is that you?"

Just as he'd remembered, Lee gave the 'nice guy' pose with a thumbs up. "Yes it is, and even though I may look different, I assure you that I am still the same splendid ninja as before! Yosh!"

Looked different? That was an understatement. Gone was the green jumpsuit, replaced by black pants and a sleeveless top trimmed in red. His trademark bowl haircut was gone too, cut shorter and styled different. Someone had even trimmed his eyebrows so that they looked completely normal. Naruto was pretty sure the one to blame was the girl he'd been sitting next to. "And I'm guessing this person with you is responsible for your makeover?"

His eyes grew wide and Rock Lee said, "Sorry, I have been negligent with introductions. Naruto, this is Arekusu, my girlfriend. Arekusu, this is my good friend Naruto."

Arekusu bowed slightly in her seat. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He bowed in return. "And you as well, Arekusu. It appears that you've been a positive influence on Lee, as I've never seen him more...youthful than he is now."

She blushed and thanked him. Lee returned to his seat beside her, and Naruto joined them in the booth. He looked around and saw there were a few missing faces. He knew Neji and Hinata were still at the Hyūga compound, but where were the rest? "Sasuke and Sakura aren't here. And where's Shikamaru?"

Ino answered, "Shikamaru is in Suna on a mission. We're not really sure about Sasuke. He usually doesn't join us because he's off training, and we don't see Sakura because she keeps to herself a lot."

"That pretty much sounds like Sasuke. Well, it would be nice to see them both as well. I haven't had a chance to talk with him since returning to the village, so let's see if I can find out where they both are." He closed his eyes and became very still...

Arekusu whispered, "What's he doing?"

Lee whispered back, "Naruto is also a sage and when he gathers nature energy, he can sense others in the village, even over a great distance. He's looking for the chakra patterns of Sasuke and Sakura."

As they watched, the area around Naruto's eyes turned reddish-orange, and when he opened them everyone saw that his irises were yellow with horizontal pupils. He looked up at the roof, expanding his awareness and said, "Okay…where are you guys?"

If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that with the sole exception of Lee, the look of everyone at the table had changed. They were all shocked, and Ino and Mina had eyes as big as plates. They quickly glanced at each other, as it was clear they had all felt the same thing but quietly thought it would be best to wait until after Naruto left to talk about it.

"Okay, you guys were right. Sasuke is at training ground seven. And Sakura…" Naruto suddenly stopped, his face becoming emotionless.

Tenten spoke up. "Don't leave us hanging, Naruto. Where's Sakura? Can you sense her?"

He looked back down at everyone, his eyes becoming their usual blue as he released his sage mode. "Sakura is…indisposed at the moment. So I guess neither one will be joining us after all."

That was a lie, and everyone at the table knew it by the tone of his voice. Most of them knew the history between Naruto and Sakura, and even though eight years had passed they were all pretty sure it was still a sensitive subject in many ways. The look on his face made it clear that he wasn't going to discuss whatever he discovered any further, and they all silently decided to drop the subject.

Ino broke the silence. "Ok, no problem. Let's get dinner and catch up on things while we wait for the food."

They ordered their meals and Naruto shocked his classmates by ordering Japanese style grilled beef, prompting them to laugh and ask who he was and what did he do with their friend. Naruto explained that during his time away from the village, he came to grips with the fact that even though his affinity for ramen bordered on obsessive, he needed to learn to eat other things because if he ever got married, he was sure that his wife wouldn't make him ramen every day of the week, no matter how much he begged.

Kiba snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Yeah, that's right! We all heard you're marrying Hinata." His face became serious and he asked his friend, "Are you sure you wanna do that?"

"Excuse me?"

Kiba continued, "Well, you might be okay with that but I wouldn't do it. I mean, Hinata is just so…weak. Have you ever seen her in a fight? It's clear she's the weakest link on our team."

Naruto looked at him, confused. Why the sudden turnaround in personality? "Weakest link? Are you joking, Kiba? You're her teammate. You should know Hinata is strong, both inside and out. I'm shocked that after all these years, you can't see it."

Shino added, "Fine, even if that were true – which I'm not sure that it is – then what about the boy?"

"It's Hikaru and not 'the boy', Shino. I'd appreciate you using his name."

"Hikaru then. He's not yours, you know. Do you really want the responsibility of taking care of someone else's kid?"

His voice was starting to rise. "What difference does it make who his father is? Hikaru deserves to have someone in his life that he can look up to and will care for him. Neither he nor Hinata should have to suffer because Hikaru's REAL father is a coward and decided to ditch them both."

This time Choji decided to add to the conversation. "Well, that's the problem. I mean, we're not idiots Naruto. We all know what the situation is, and the problems you'll assume if you take them both in."

Naruto looked hard at him. "And what situation would that be, Choji?"

"You need to face the facts, Naruto. I'm sure Hinata knew what the consequences would be when she conceived Hikaru, but she ignored them anyway. Her reputation within the village has suffered because of it, and her clan was left with no choice but to disinherit her."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Now it was Ino's turn. "Well, you always said you wanted to be Hokage. I'm willing to bet that it wouldn't look very good if our future leader married someone who wasn't even wanted by her own clan."

His blood pressure was rising, and fast. Fighting to keep it under control, he stood up and said in an icy tone of voice, "So what you're all saying is that because some jerk decided to avoid any responsibility for Hikaru, that he should be left alienated and alone? And that Hinata has no right to be respected and appreciated for the strong, courageous and wonderful kunoichi she is because she made a small error in judgment in loving the asshole?" He pointed his finger and swept it in front of everyone at the table. "Let there be no doubts about my next statement. I'm marrying Hinata and accepting Hikaru as my son, situation and consequences be damned. Both of them are my precious people, and I've made the promise of a lifetime to protect and care for them both always."

"But what about your dream of being Hokage?"

"If the village decides to give someone else the job because of it, then fine – they can go fuck themselves for all I care. And if I had to choose between being Hokage and having Hinata and Hikaru as my family, then I choose them and the people who run this village can kiss my ass."

Finally, Tenten spoke up. "And that, Naruto was the right answer."

That simple statement stopped him cold. He looked around at everyone sitting in the booth, and noticed they were all smiling at him. His face went from angry to confused and he asked, "What the hell is going on here? Why the sudden change in tone?"

"You're right, Naruto. Hinata deserves far better than she's gotten from the village. She deserves someone who will love and protect not only her, but Hikaru as well. And she deserves to live her own life, free from the oppression of her father and the clan." Tenten grinned from ear to ear. "We just wanted to make sure you were worthy of her, that's all."

He sat back down, confused. "If you wanted to make sure of it, then why didn't you just come right out and ask me in the first place?"

Kiba chimed in, "Look, Naruto…Neji spilled the beans about the chat you had with Hiashi a week ago. He was actually smiling when he told us about how strongly you defended Hinata, and that you made it almost an entire five minutes before pissing him off and leaving."

"By the way, that was my favorite part." Tenten said, winking at him.

Kiba continued, "Anyway, we all know that you're an honest and trustworthy person. But we wanted to see for ourselves how important Hinata and Hikaru really are to you, and now we know." He chuckled and said, "Besides...we couldn't miss the opportunity to irritate you and see the same face Hiashi saw." He stood up, raising his glass and exclaimed, "A toast!"

Everyone else stood up. "A toast!"

Tenten said, "To Naruto and Hinata…may they both find the happiness in each other that they so richly deserve." Her eyes twinkled as she finished, "And here's hoping that she keeps our future Hokage in line."

"Here, here!" They all shouted while clinking their glasses together and drinking.

Naruto looked at everyone and said, "You guys should really seek professional help. I mean it. You're all certifiably insane."

Everyone at the table laughed, dispelling any tension left in the air. Their order arrived soon after, and the conversation quickly turned to catching up on events from the last eight years. With the exception of how Lee and Kiba had met their girlfriends, most of the discussion was about how they had gotten stronger due to their training. They told him that Tsunade had retired mainly because she wanted to open the Shinobi Medical Academy, as well as improve current medical battlefield procedures to ensure that as many ninja as possible made it home alive. Kakashi had been the only logical replacement for the job, since either Naruto couldn't be found or didn't want to be.

When everyone asked what he had been doing for the last eight years, Naruto spoke mostly in general terms, basically telling them he'd been training nonstop and traveling the world, meeting new people and seeing the local sights. Technically, it wasn't a lie since he had done just that while he was part of the Mienai Segi.

After about an hour or so, Naruto stood up and said, "Thanks for the meal, guys. It's been great catching up with you, but it's been a long day and I've only got a week left before the wedding. Hinata and I still have quite a bit to take care of, so I'm going to turn in early and try to get a good night's sleep." He told Mina and Arekusu that it was very nice meeting them, paid his share of the bill and said goodbye to everyone as he left the restaurant.

About a minute after Naruto walked out the door, Ino turned to everyone and asked, "Okay, now that he's gone, who wants to talk about it?"

Lee turned to her and asked, "About what, Ino?"

"About when Naruto went into sage mode." Her eyes grew wide as she continued, "With the exception of Lee who can't sense chakra, I know you all felt the same thing when he did it."

Tenten said, "The air WAS pretty thick with chakra pressure, but it always feels like that when he gathers nature energy." She looked sideways at Ino and asked, "Why?"

Ino looked at everyone with the same frightened look she had earlier. "Okay, both Mina and I may not be the best at it but we can sense chakra levels to some extent. And even though I know the rest of you felt how heavy his chakra pressure was, the two of us are the only ones who can truly understand what was really happening."

Kiba asked, "I'm confused. Did I miss something? What did you feel that we didn't?"

Mina said, "It was power, Kiba-kun. You need to understand that to sensor types like us, the amount of chakra pressure Naruto was giving off was almost suffocating."

Ino almost shouted, "And you know what the funny part is? He was doing it without even trying! I mean, it didn't feel evil or anything but the sensation was like having a small mountain strapped to your back. The pressure was incredible." She shivered and said, "Thank Kami he wasn't emitting any killing intent. He'd have probably put several people in the restaurant in a coma."

"Oh, come on Ino," Choji said. "Yeah, the air WAS really heavy with chakra and it did feel larger than eight years ago, but I'm sure that what you felt was just the result of his 'tenant', so to speak."

Ino shook her head. "No, it wasn't. I can tell the difference between the two and he wasn't using anything from his 'tenant'. The power he was putting out was all his."

There was a moment of silence around the table before Kiba asked, "Ino, if you had to guess…how strong would you say Naruto is?"

Ino looked at everyone and said, "I'm not really sure, Kiba. I do know for certain that he's stronger by far than any of the Akatsuki members we ever faced." She paused before finishing, "And he may be stronger than Madara Uchiha."

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When Naruto left the restaurant, his friends thought he was headed back to his hotel room to turn in early. However, that was a lie because he clearly had a different destination in mind. The truth of the matter was that when he tried sensing the chakra signatures of Sasuke and Sakura earlier, Sasuke was at training ground seven like he'd said but Sakura at the Hyūga compound, _sitting right next to Hinata_.

As far as he was concerned, there were really only two reasons why Sakura would be talking to Hinata. The first dealt with Hikaru, since they both went on that mission and for some odd reason had decided to keep the identity of the father a secret. That little fact still bothered him; they were both protecting someone…but who was it? And better yet, why were they protecting him?

The second reason he could think of was that Sakura was trying to sabotage his marriage to Hinata. He didn't trust her, not after what had happened between them all those years ago in addition to the conversation they had last week. The tone she'd used with him on both occasions made it clear that his happiness wasn't important to her anymore…if it ever was in the first place.

He decided he was going to have it out with Sakura tonight. He took off in the direction of her apartment, intent on making sure she knew that he was done treading lightly around her and being afraid of offending her if he didn't give in to her demands. He wasn't going to let her ruin what he believed was his last chance at happiness. Not if he had anything to say about it.

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Sakura climbed the stairs to her apartment, quite pleased with herself. She and Hinata were close once again, and over the last few hours had resolved their differences and disagreements. She didn't have very many people she could really call friends because of her attitude towards almost everyone over the last few years, however more than anyone else she treasured the relationship she had with Hinata.

She used her keys to unlock the front door to her apartment, but when she opened it a hand gripped her elbow and ushered her inside, quickly closing it.

"Why did you go to see Hinata?"

She berated herself; she had lowered her guard and had been taken by surprise, which could have been a costly mistake. Turning around, the look she received from his icy blue eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

"Hello, Naruto."

If anyone had told her when they were young that Naruto grow up to be the tallest member of the Konoha 12, she would have laughed in their face. However, the last thing she wanted to do right now was laugh as she turned to stare at his imposing 6' 2" frame.

"I asked you a question, Sakura. Why the hell were you at the Hyūga compound after I left?"

His voice was far colder than when he came to see her before. She remembered Hinata's words from that day last week…

_He's changed, Sakura. He's not the same happy kid who saw the good in everything. He's become insensitive and hard hearted._

"I just needed to talk with her, that's all."

"About what, exactly?"

She didn't like the tone of voice he was using with her, and as a result her attitude became defensive and she raised her voice. "We had an argument and I needed to apologize to her. You got a problem with that?"

He looked at her, trying to see if she was lying to him. He wouldn't put it past her; she'd done it to him before to get her way and there was no reason to believe she wouldn't do it again.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "And you conveniently decided to wait and have this 'conversation' with her as you call it until after I had left the compound? I'm not buying it."

She was having a hard time believing that the person in front of her was really Naruto. What happened to the happy young man she used to know? The one who always treated her with caring and kindness?

_*****Flashback*****_

"_I didn't notice anything unusual. He seems the same to me."_

_Hinata scowled and said, "None of you actually knew him like I did. I watched him from the shadows and sidelines as he hid behind a false image, hiding the pain he really felt." _

_Sakura didn't have an answer for that statement and sat there, blank and unresponsive. _

_Hinata fought to choke back the tears that were forming in her eyes. "He even told me that love isn't real. That he doesn't believe in love anymore." She looked at Sakura, who sat there unemotional. "What did you do to him?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

_The tears were falling from her eyes. "I'm sure Naruto-kun as seen and done many things over the last eight years that would haunt most people. But that wouldn't explain why he said that." Her eyes bored into Sakura's. "The only explanation is that his heart was broken so severely, that the idea of love existing in his life again is too painful a concept to believe in."_

_Sakura pursed her lips and said, "And?"_

"_And we were together on that mission for almost a year. There was never a time – not once – that we talked about what truly happened. What he meant to you."_

_Sakura scoffed and said, "It doesn't matter anymore. What happened between us is dead and buried."_

_*****End Flashback*****_

Despite what Hinata had told her, she refused to believe it. Had their breakup really changed him that much? It couldn't be entirely her fault…could it?

"Are you calling me a liar, Naruto?"

"If the shoe fits, Sakura-SAN." He intentionally put emphasis on the suffix.

Sakura shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are? How _**dare**_ you?" And she swung a chakra enhanced fist, fully intending to punch him through several walls.

His hand effortlessly caught her fist, like it was nothing more than a second thought and she was shocked that he had made it seem as easy as swatting a fly.

"I'm only going to say this once, Sakura. Your days of using me as your personal punching bag, whether it's physical or emotional are over. If you're angry, take it out on someone else but right now I don't give a shit how you feel."

She felt like Naruto had thrown cold water in her face. He had never been this angry at her, and looking at him she could see that he was very tempted to break every bone in her arm right now.

He shoved her fist away from him and said, "I don't trust you at all. You stay the fuck out of my business. And now Hinata is my business."

She was being backed into a corner and didn't like it. Hinata was the only friend she had right now, and she wasn't going to lose that.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but in case you've forgotten, Hinata and I are very good friends. I'm not going to stop talking to her just because you say so."

Naruto slapped his forehead and said sarcastically, "Oh, gee...I completely forgot. You've been best friends for awhile now." His voice lowered and he quietly finished, "Ever since you went on that mission with Hinata."

Sakura turned pale. She knew she was treading in dangerous waters, but refused to back down.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura was trying to remain calm and cool, even though she didn't feel that way right now. "You come into my apartment uninvited, and then have the audacity to threaten and insult me after calling me a liar. I should throw your ass out of here."

Naruto glared at Sakura, eager to respond to her latest threat. However, before he could say another word, he received some advice from an unlikely source.

_**Kit, let it go for now.**_

_She's pushing my buttons, Kurama...and I know she's doing it on purpose. I need to make sure that..._

_**Naruto. **_

He was so stunned that his face in the real world became blank. Kurama had never called him by his real name. Never.

_Kurama? What's going on? Why did you…_

_**I'll explain later, but the best course of action at the moment would be to let this go. I realize this female is responsible for more pain in your life than anyone else, but there are two things to consider here. For now, release your anger and play along like everything is fine.**_

Naruto thought about that for a second. Even though he was still wary of the fox, Kurama had used his real name, sounded sincere with his advice and was actually trying to help.

_You promise to explain later, Kurama?_

_**You have my sworn word, Naruto. I promise.**_

That's twice he'd called him by his real name. He decided to give Kurama the benefit of the doubt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. When he opened them again, he adopted the same false smile he used as a child in front of others.

"Sorry about that, Sakura."

She looked at him, shocked by the sudden turnaround in personality. The anger he'd shown her was gone, and his body language had completely changed. _This_ was the Naruto she remembered.

"What the hell just happened?"

He placed a hand at the back of his neck and said, "I apologize. I didn't like the fact that you were talking to Hinata behind my back, and I was afraid you were trying to convince her not to marry me."

Naruto had no idea how close to the truth he was with that statement. But even though that was the cause of her argument with Hinata last week, she decided to play innocent and asked, "Why would I do something like that? You're making it seem like I'm the bad girl of the story here."

"I dunno, maybe I think you still hate me and can't stand me."

"Naruto, I could never hate you." She smiled and said, "You make it very hard for anyone to hate you. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Maybe it was that conversation we had all those years ago."

She waved her hand to dismiss the thought. "It's been a long time since then. We're older now and I'm sure that we're both past that."

_Bullshit,_ he thought. _You may have everyone else fooled but not me. I have a hunch that there's more going on here, and until I find out what it is I still won't trust you._

"So you do care about Hinata, huh?"

"Yes, very much. I really want to marry her."

Sakura walked up and hugged him. "I'm glad to hear it. You both deserve each other, and I'm sure you'll be very happy together."

"Thank you, Sakura." He withdrew from her hug and said, "I should leave now before Sasuke gets home and starts wondering what I'm doing here."

She slapped him on his arm and said, "He'll be fine. Go home and get some rest."

As he was walking to the door, he stopped and turned around. Smiling once again, he looked at her and said, "By the way, congratulations to you as well."

Her look became puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"You're pregnant. I'm guessing about one month along, right?"

Her face became shocked. "I'm pregnant? How…how do you know?"

"Your nose is starting to flatten out a bit, and your ankles are beginning to swell. And when I saw you climbing the stairs, you put your hands on your lower back like it was bothering you." As he opened the door and walked out, he said "Congratulate Sasuke for me."

Sakura flopped down on the couch as the door closed behind Naruto. Everything he said had been true, except maybe the nose...it still looked perfect, right?

Suddenly, tears began to fall from her eyes and she smiled. Finally, after all this time she and Sasuke would be parents.

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* * *

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Naruto entered his hotel room and locked the door. He wasn't lying earlier when he told his friends that it had been a long day. He couldn't remember the last time so much had happened in his life at once.

It had been an informative conversation with Kakashi, to start the day. The apology and his 'session' about Sakura made him feel a little better, and he'd found out some information regarding the mission with Hinata and Sakura. While he didn't know much more about it now than he had prior to the meeting, Kakashi had promised that he wouldn't stop looking for anything that might be helpful in discovering the truth.

Then, he'd had the chance to talk with Hikaru. He knew what the boy was going through; even though Hinata had always been there for him as his mother, a young boy needed a father figure to talk with sometimes. Iruka-sensei had filled that gap for Naruto when he was young, but not in the same way as someone you come home to, someone who cares for your mother as well. When Hikaru had jumped into his arms, he felt like a missing piece of his life had finally been found.

And then, Hinata – who he was firmly convinced had deliberately played his emotions like a fiddle in the Hyūga compound – had shown up looking more beautiful than anyone else he'd ever seen in his life. Even after telling her of his association with the Mienai Segi, she hadn't called off the wedding. She accepted him; no strings attached and told him she wanted a 'normal' marriage between the two of them. He didn't know what he'd done in his life to deserve her, but he thanked Kami for whatever it was.

Running into Kiba and getting the chance to speak with most of his friends had been great. During the conversation, they had intentionally pushed his emotional buttons but he appreciated their loyalty to Hinata. It was nice to know that regardless of what the village said, she still had people who cared about her and wanted her to be happy. Not only that, they felt that he was the one who could provide her with that happiness and even though he didn't need their approval, it felt nice to have it.

Finally, there was Sakura. The one person in this entire Kami damned world who could make him laugh or drive him insane – sometimes both at once. He'd gone there looking to pick a fight, and to tell her to stay the hell away from Hinata. It didn't surprise him at all when she'd refused his demands and informed him that she wouldn't stop talking to her because they were good friends, and he wasn't sure why but her congratulatory words rung hollow in his ears.

It was then that the biggest shock of the day happened. Kurama had not only given him good advice that helped diffuse the situation, but had called him by his real name…twice, which he'd never done before. And he had a feeling that the conversation he was about to have would be the most important one of the entire day.

_**You always want to save the best for last. Isn't that right, kit?**_

He sighed. _Okay, Kurama. You promised to explain later, and you can't get much later than this. Why did you help me?_

_**Join me in your mind, Naruto. There is something I wish to show you, and we'll talk there.**_

He placed a pillow on the floor, sat down and assumed the lotus position. Closing his eyes, he entered his mindscape and appeared in front of the cage that held the kyuubi.

Right away, he noticed something was different. The sewers had always been a dark, damp place but water wasn't dripping from the ceiling and didn't cover the floor anymore. Also, it didn't seem as dark as it had been...instead of being pitch black it was charcoal gray, like an overcast sky.

_What's going on? Why have things changed?_

Kurama looked at him through the bars of his cage and sighed. _**Kit, have you ever wondered why your mindscape always appears as it does?**_

He thought about that for a moment. _No, I never really did. I always assumed that it was just supposed to be that way...isn't it?_

_**Not necessarily. Understand that your inner self is a reflection of your outer self. When you're unhappy, your inner self appears as you remember…a dark, damp sewer where water covers the floor and drips from the ceiling. But when you're truly happy, conditions in here improve. You can see the results for yourself. **_

He looked around. Things had definitely improved, but the whole inner and outer self thing didn't really seem believable.

_That doesn't make sense, Kurama. I've been coming to this place since I was about twelve years old and you're trying to tell me that I've never been happy before in my life?_

_**You may have had happy thoughts and moments, yes. Such an example would be when you were with Jiraiya; that perverted sage who trained you. However, those memories differ from true emotional happiness.**_

_Can you be a little more specific? What do you mean by true emotional happiness?_

_**I'm talking about your chosen mate, Naruto. The indigo haired princess – and to a lesser extent, her offspring – are the reason why the landscape in your mind has changed. They are affecting the reflection of your true self.**_

Naruto paused for a few moments, trying to understand Kurama's last statement. _Okay, let me see if I have this straight. So what you're saying is that the area of my mind that holds your cage can change, is that it?_

_**That is correct.**_

_And it can't be changed by happy moments or memories, like when Iruka-sensei gave me my hitai-ate. It can only be changed by true emotional happiness, right?_

_**Yes. But it can't come from just anyone; it has to be from your one true mate.**_

_You mean, like my true love?_

_**Exactly.**_

Naruto scoffed at that._ Oh come on, Kurama. If that's the case, then why didn't my inner self change when I was dating Sakura? Eight years ago, she was my one true love!_

Kurama sighed again. _**If you think about it you'll answer your own question, kit. You may be able to lie to me, but you can't lie to yourself. The pink haired female was not your one true mate. The pain she gave you all those years ago has not diminished and despite her honeyed words, I believe she does not truly care for you and is only concerned with her happiness and the Uchiha that she married. **_

He didn't want to believe the truth of that statement, but the more he thought about it the more sense it made – especially after the conversation he'd had with Kakashi. When it came to Naruto, Sakura had usually spoken with her fists first and her mouth second. Her attitude towards him had constantly been cold and indifferent, no matter how much he'd tried to make her happy and even though she wanted to be his friend now, he wasn't sure he was interested in that anymore.

Kurama was right. He didn't know what they had, but whatever it was you couldn't call it true love.

_Did…did you know back then that Sakura wasn't my one true love?_

_**It was apparent when the scenery around here didn't change so yes, I knew.**_

So even though his outer self hadn't realized it, his inner self apparently had and that's why nothing had changed in his mind during that time. But if that was true, it meant...

_So you knew from the beginning that Sakura wasn't my one true love? Why didn't you tell me, Kurama? You could have saved me, saved US eight years of horrors and nightmares!_

_**Naruto, ask yourself this question. Even if I had told you…would you have listened?**_

Naruto was silent for a few minutes as he thought that over, but in the end the answer was painfully obvious. _No, I guess not. It's just like I said to Kakashi earlier, I was blind to logic and reason. Even if you had tried, it wouldn't have made a difference because I wasn't listening to anyone else's opinion but my own. _

_**I'm glad you realize that now. It makes this conversation that much easier.**_

_Thanks._ He looked at Kurama again. _So Hinata is my one true love? How is that even possible?_

_**I'm not sure, but the change in your mindscape occurred today after you had the conversation with her. Regardless, your mind knows who she is and what you see reflects that.**_

He absorbed the immensity of that sentence. Despite his doubts about the situation, it appeared that his inner self knew the truth...he truly loved Hinata. He may have to share that love with Hikaru's father, but the reality was that he loved her more than anyone else in his life.

A thought came back to him. _Does this have anything to do with why you told me to let the situation go earlier? Why you told me to calm down and fake it like I used to?_

_**Yes, it does. As I said, there are two things you need to consider regarding the situation with the pink haired female. First of all, understand that she is one half of the key to the secret surrounding the boy's father. Your answers will be far easier to find if both parties believe you are satisfied with the way things are. **_

Naruto paused. _Okay, you got me there. What's the next reason?_

_**Second of all, remember that she can't be trusted. If you show any aggression towards her I'm positive that she will somehow get this information back to your chosen mate, and this will not bode well for you or the landscape that I currently reside in. You should avoid all contact with her, at least for the next week until your 'wedding' as you call it is complete.**_

Both reasons were very good advice, actually. Kurama was full of surprises today, and Naruto sensed that he wasn't done shocking him yet.

_And what does this have to do with you? I mean, I'm grateful for the advice, but I'm guessing you weren't doing this for free. You want something, so what is it?_

_**Yes and no. I do want something, but I never said that I expected it to be free. **_Kurama was silent a few moments. _**I would like to offer you a deal.**_

Naruto chuckled. _Forgive me Kurama, I don't mean to laugh but I know from past experience that your deals are very one sided. Why should I listen to you now?_

_**For the same reason I gave you the advice earlier, Naruto – because your happiness is directly tied to mine. We both know that because of your mate, things have changed in here and that means that for the first time since I was imprisoned inside you, I see an opportunity to improve my...living conditions.**_

Okay, he couldn't argue against that. _Fine, you've got my attention. What is it you want?_

As Kurama told him what he wanted, Naruto raised his eyebrows. _That's a tall order Kurama, and frankly you're asking for a hell of a lot, but you said before that you didn't expect what you wanted to be free. So, assuming for the moment that I'll give you what you want, what are you offering me in return?_

_**What I offer is this...**_

Naruto stood in his mindscape, stunned. He hadn't expected Kurama to offer him _THAT_.

_You're positive about this?_

_**Yes Naruto, I am.**_

_And you've thought this through? You understand what this means, what you're giving up?_

_**I've thought this through on many occasions since the fourth shinobi war, Naruto. I'm well aware of what this means and I understand the significance of my statement.**_

It was an enormous request, and one he couldn't agree to lightly. He needed time to process the information and think about it.

_Kurama, I'll consider your offer. However, I'd like to wait until after the wedding to give you my answer. You know the reasons why._

_**I agree; you must meet that condition first before mine is answered. However, I don't believe you have anything to worry about because she will not abandon you now, just as she did not abandon you then.**_ Kurama smiled, which was an odd sight to see. _**Return to your world and prepare for the week ahead, there is still much for you to do and you will certainly need your rest.**_

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the clock. 10:45 PM…barely 5 minutes had passed in the real world even though it felt like he'd been in there for an hour.

Sighing, he got up from the pillow to prepare for bed, thinking this had probably been the longest day of his young life so far. Kurama was right when he said that there was much to do in the coming week and that he would need his rest, but he wondered if sleep would come to him and furthermore, would the nightmares return like they always did?

As his head hit the pillow and he drifted off to sleep, the horrors of his subconscious came to haunt him just as he'd expected. They terrorized him as he ran throughout his mind, laughing insanely with serrated teeth and sharp claws, eager to rend the flesh from his ethereal body. However, just as the darkness threatened to overtake him, an image of Hinata appeared in his thoughts and she saw him scared and huddled in a corner, trying to keep the dreams from hurting him.

_Don't be afraid, Naruto-kun. I'm here; everything will be alright. I won't let them hurt you._

She reached out to him, cradling his head as she gathered it to her chest, like a mother comforting her child.

Tears fell from his eyes as he hugged her fiercely, afraid that she might leave. _You promise, Hinata? You promise not to let them hurt me?_

She stroked his hair, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. _Yes, Naruto-kun. I'll never let you go, and I promise they'll never hurt you again._

Then she smiled and light radiated forth from her body, pushing the darkness back and banishing it to the farthest corners of his mind. The warmth from her embrace washed over him, as she continued to hold him close and whisper soothing words of comfort to him within his dream. And for the first time in a very long time he slept peacefully, safe in the knowledge that she would protect him, just as he would protect her.

_His indigo haired princess. His one true love._

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A/N: Okay, once again to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's original story, welcome. I hope you like what I'm doing with the story and the new content I'm adding. Out of all the chapters I've written so far, this was definitely my favorite.

I wanted to add a small part at the end of this story to mention a few things. The first is to address Naruto; I had a reader PM me saying that it seems he's all over the map with his feelings. This is by design, as he has some things to work out. His time away with the Mienai Segi left quite a few unresolved issues and feelings that he has to come to terms with and this will probably continue. Just like the part at the end of this story; it shows that while Naruto may be very powerful and a future Hokage, he can get scared and lonely just like the rest of us. Not only do I think it makes him seem more human, I also think it makes the drama better. But that's just my opinion.

Second, I want my readers to know something…I suck at coming up with character names. I think I'm pretty good with the writing, but when it comes to names I suck. I have a friend I golf with who says, "Saying I suck is an insult to people who suck." He's a real poet, that guy.

I'm mentioning this because there are two characters in this story that I dug up from Deviantart. Kiba's girlfriend Mina is the OC of mattwilson83. He has tons of fantastic work on there and he's a hell of an artist.

The other is Arekusu who is the OC of shock777, and the inspiration for the paragraph I used to explain how Rock Lee looks now came from some of his artwork. If you're curious and want to see what he looks like AFTER the makeover, eliminate the percent signs and go to the following (you should know what to replace the stars with):

shock777.%%%Deviantart.***/%%%art/%%%To-Match-%The -%Inside-pt-2-%290752718

Recommendation time! Okay, for this chapter I'm giving a shout out to fellow writer **TheGreatHibiki **and his funny, sexy and heartrending story **Fakers!** (ID 6658931). It's a NaruIno pairing and 'sort of' complete, and once again there's no bashing of anyone else. There's a little of everything…drama, humor, romance, lemons…but there's also some parts in the story that flat out made me cry...no joke and I'm not ashamed to admit it (the big emotional piece that got me is chapter 23). And as I mentioned before, I love a good fight scene and a gruesome battle to the death, but I'm also a sucker for romance. This story, and in particular that chapter was the inspiration for the last part in mine with Naruto and his dreams. Read the story, enjoy the work and leave a review. He deserves it.

We're quickly coming to the end of the old stuff and getting to the new stuff so hopefully things will get less repetitive soon. Standard statement once again is that every chapter will have SOMETHING new; I'm just not sure how much.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	6. What Just Happened?

_**Pilot to copilot…Chapter 6 ready for takeoff. **_

Okay, standard thanks once again to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as to my anonymous beta for his help and support.

Okay, so quite a bit of new stuff in this chapter and just to remind everyone this will be the LAST one before the wedding. We're getting closer to all new stuff, and I'm trying to get these out as fast as I can but I've basically pushed out 6 chapters in as many weeks. Even if I had an outline to come from, it's still been strenuous and I hope my readers appreciate how hard I've been working on this. There are some additional bits I need to put in the next two chapters (wedding and lemon scene) so hopefully I'll have them out soon.

As always, I want to thank everyone who left me a review. I'm above 180 reviews total, and I'm setting the bar high with this chapter. Out of every chapter I've written, this one was the most difficult one to do by far. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm loving the roller coaster ride I'm on as I write this story and I hope my writing is improving. This story is exceeding my expectations very quickly and I'm gratified that I have as many followers as I do.

So, what's new here? Well, I used some context from the initial chapters but the first two parts are basically all from me. The last part was used from the original story, but there are some things that are different there as well. I'd say about 75% is all new stuff here, and as usual I'm hoping not only does the additional content help things out, that the new content sets up for some deep plot lines.

So remember – REVIEWS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND! I received about 35 for the last chapter, and I'm hoping that we can have at least 225 reviews total or more by the time I release the next chapter about the wedding. Love getting them, so keep up the good work!

.

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, and I'm working hard on writing the next chapter!**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Look, you stupid bastard, you can't write! You've got no arms left!**_

_**Disclaimer – Yes, I have.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Look!**_

_**Disclaimer – It's just a flesh wound. (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 6 – What just happened?

To say that the last week before the wedding was chaotic would be putting it mildly, at the very least. Originally it was supposed to be a small affair, some three hundred guests or so, but as news began to spread around the elemental nations, many friends of the groom requested the honor to attend. Among those asking to be present were the Fire and Sand Daimyo, the other Kage of the five great nations each with their own entourage, Princess Koyuki from the Land of Snow and leaders of various villages that Naruto had helped over the years.

As a result, the number of people basically doubled requiring a change in venue. Hiashi struggled to maintain control of it all, however with guests as important as these he simply couldn't refuse their request to attend and congratulate the Savior of the Shinobi World. The gears in his mind were already turning, trying to figure out how he could potentially turn this opportunity to socialize with some of the most powerful people in the elemental nations into a political advantage for him and his clan.

Despite the insistence of Hiashi to plan every detail of the event down to the last wedding favor, Hinata and Naruto made it very clear that they would have at least _some_ input regarding the ceremony. Naruto knew that this day was mostly for Hinata, so he requested very little for himself and apart from making sure certain guests received an invite, he asked for Iruka-sensei to be his best man along with one other item. During his travels in the west, he noticed that a cake was served to everyone in the hope that it would bring good luck to the happy couple and their guests. At this point, Naruto thought he could use all the help he could get and since his requests were small, Hiashi agreed to them without an argument.

Hinata had her opinions as well, but to everyone's surprise she had planned this event out years ago. Apparently, she had been dreaming of this day since she was very young and it was hard to argue with her since every detail had been so meticulously thought out. As far as she was concerned, this was going to be the only wedding she would ever have, and she wanted to make sure that she never forgot this day.

Even though she really didn't have time to do anything before the wedding, Hinata made sure to spend time with her blond fiancé. Her stress level over the last week had been off the charts, and his presence brought a sense of calm to her life when she felt like things were spinning out of control. And since there was only one more day left, Naruto finally decided to show her the house he'd bought for them at the resort complex.

It was ten in the morning as they walked down a residential street on the outskirts of Konoha, and before she knew it they had stopped in front of a two-story house that was about three thousand square feet. The only proof that this was the house Naruto bought were the symbols on the mail slot as they walked up...those of Hyūga and Uzumaki.

"Naruto-kun, is this...is this the house you bought for us?"

He smiled at her. "Yes, Hinata it is." A key to the front door appeared in her hand. "Here, why don't you go inside first and take a look around? I'll give you a minute and then join you."

Her hand trembled as she took the key and slid it into the lock, opening the door. She walked in, astonished at how large it was inside.

Every room appeared to have vaulted ceilings and crown molding. Immediately to the right of the entrance was a formal dining room, complete with an elaborate chandelier. She walked past a set of stairs with intricately carved handrails that she was sure led to the second floor bedrooms and continued into the great room, which had elevated ceilings and recessed lighting. A huge stone fireplace was on the back wall, and on either side of that were doors that led to an enclosed, screened porch.

She noticed the kitchen off to the right of this, and as she walked into the room her eyes lit up with joy. Naruto apparently had remembered that she loved to cook, and he'd made sure this room would have everything she would ever need.

On one wall was a range top with eight burners and underneath that were two large ovens. There were two sinks, and on the far wall was a large walk-in pantry and commercial grade refrigerator. There were separate areas for food preparation and presentation, as well as a large area for eating breakfast and other meals that weren't suited for a formal dining room setting.

"Do you like it?"

She turned around, startled. He had managed to sneak up behind her; either he was that good or she was so engrossed in what she was seeing that she failed to notice. She thought it was best to make it a little of both.

"I…I love it, Naruto-kun. But this…it's simply too much! I mean, I know I told you to stop buying me such expensive gifts, but this must have cost you…"

He interrupted her. "The cost isn't important. I wanted to give you something in return for what you've given me."

She looked at him, confused. "What _**I've**_ given you? I don't understand…you're the one who's been giving _**me**_ gifts. I haven't given you anything."

He smiled and said, "Yes you have, and its value can't be measured. You're giving me both you and Hikaru. You're giving me a family." He stepped close and hugged her. "The two of you will make this more than a house…you will make it a _home_."

Hinata was at a loss for words as she hugged him back, her eyes filling with tears. Tomorrow was her wedding, and having Naruto as her husband was more than she could have ever hoped for. And it wasn't the gifts that made her feel this way; it was the little things that he did to show her how much he cared. It didn't matter if it was something as small as holding her hand while they walked together, or how he would sneak up behind her to steal a kiss…he made her life so much more enjoyable that she really couldn't imagine being without him.

Naruto pulled away from her and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

She smiled and said, "I'm…I'm just happy, and very grateful. Thank you…thank you so much."

He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Umm…you're welcome, Hinata. Now come on, I'll show you the rest of the house."

He took her back through the kitchen and past the stairs to the other side of the great room. She gave him a puzzled look and asked, "Naruto-kun, why are we here? Aren't the bedrooms upstairs?"

"The guest bedrooms and Hikaru's room are upstairs, yes. But the main bedroom is through here." He opened the door to the master suite and ushered her through.

"Now, this is the main area but through _that_ door," he pointed to his right, "is a sitting area where you can relax and meditate." He opened the door on the opposite wall and said, "Through this door is the master bathroom. There are separate walk-in closets for each of us and I also had a vanity built for you because I know you like brushing your hair at night. There's also a stand-up shower and a whirlpool tub."

She didn't have time to be shocked because he quickly turned to her and said, "C'mon, let me show you the second floor."

He led her up the stairs and pointed to the right. "There's a bedroom here at the top of the stairs, and another two on the left down this hallway here. At the end of the hallway is a room just for you…Make it into whatever you like." He pointed to the left. "At the end of this walkway is a door that leads to a combination study room and library."

Hinata was awestruck. He'd obviously put quite a bit of thought into the house when he bought it, since the atmosphere was so…cozy and pleasant. It was nothing like the stale atmosphere of the Hyūga compound, where you could literally feel the cold coming from the walls.

Naruto turned and looked deep into her eyes. "Hinata, I want you to do something for me. I want you to personally decorate this place. Choose everything from the furniture and pictures on the wall, down to the color of the paint. I want it to be warm, comforting and inviting – everything that the Hyūga compound isn't. Whatever it takes, I want it to be a reflection of you. I want you to make this _your new home_."

Hinata was surprised; he was basically giving her permission to do whatever she wanted to the house without having to consult him first. However, one of her biggest fears she continued to have over the past week was that she would say or do something to make Naruto change his mind about marrying her. Desperate not to ruin things and unwilling to risk it, she decided that agreeing with him was the best course of action.

"That's okay, Naruto-kun. Whatever you want to do with the house will be fine with me."

He gave her a blank stare. "That's not what I asked for, Hinata. I want _you_ to choose how this place will look, not me."

Something was wrong; why did his demeanor change so suddenly? She was only agreeing with him…

"I understand, but you bought this house so I think you should choose how it looks for both of us."

The conversation was quickly taking a turn for the worse, and he was getting irritated because she clearly didn't understand what he was trying to do. Struggling to stay calm, he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. His next words carried an air of authority, like a parent talking to a child.

"Hinata, I know what you're doing and it needs to stop right now."

Confused, she asked "What…what I'm doing? I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

He opened his eyes and said, "Let me ask you a question. Do you have any idea why I'm doing this? All of this?" He made a sweeping gesture with his hand, but she knew that he was talking about more than just the house.

Still unclear as to what he was talking about, she could only manage to shake her head no.

"It's for _**you**_, Hinata. Everything I've done so far has been for _**you**_."

Hinata softly said, "For…for me?"

He took another deep breath before continuing. "Yes, Hinata…you may not think so, but it is. Were you listening to yourself just now when you were answering me? I basically gave you permission to decorate this house however you wanted, but instead of taking the initiative and accepting the offer you folded inward emotionally. There's something you're afraid of and I'm not sure what it is, but it's so terrifying that rather than risk having an opinion of your own you're just agreeing with whatever I say. That's not a wife, it's a parrot…and if I wanted one of those instead of you, I'd go to the pet store and buy one."

Hinata swallowed hard and stood there, unable to speak. If only she could tell him about the fear that gripped her heart; that he really didn't want to marry her and somehow he would find a way to call off the wedding. She tensed; certain he would say those words any moment…

"Hinata, the Hyūga compound is a cold and unforgiving place where almost everyone has the personality of a cement block, and with the sole exception of Neji and Hanabi I've never seen one single person that treats you with kindness and warmth. Instead, they look at you with ridicule and scorn and despite that, I've never heard you say one bad thing about anyone else in your clan, and that's probably because you're afraid of hurting their feelings."

His inner voice was screaming at him to shut up, but like an idiot he ignored it and kept going. "And now, you're willing to continue the same cycle of submission and humiliation you've lived with your entire life because you're afraid of offending me for some reason." He looked directly into her eyes and said, "I've done all of this because I want you to be free from your father and his 'stick up my ass' personality, and I don't want our future to be a carbon copy of the life you endured with your clan. Your opinions are important to me, and I want you to have the freedom to express yourself without fear. And I want to know that if you ever see me being a jerk or an asshole, you won't be afraid to tell me so, no matter what the circumstances. Understand?"

Her eyes filled with tears and she turned away from him, nodding her head yes. He had just summarized her life in a few sentences, and even though she didn't want to believe it she knew everything he'd said was true. She understood now what he was trying to say; that he wanted her to walk beside him in the marriage and not behind him…but the truth still hurt her deeply.

Naruto could sense that she was on the verge of crying, and he suddenly realized that he'd let his irritation get the best of him. He should have listened to his inner voice and stopped, but he didn't and went too far with the words he used.

"Hinata, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She could tell by the tone of his voice that his apology was sincere, and she quickly turned and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. He hugged her back as she let her emotions out, her tears staining his shirt.

"Please forgive me, Hinata…" He continued to hold her, stroking her back comfortingly. "Please?"

She moved her face away from his chest and looked into his eyes, wiping the tears from her cheeks. _He's just so wonderful,_ she thought to herself. _He's done all of this simply because he wants me to be happy. He cares about my opinions, which is more than anyone else ever has and I love him so much. But I just can't say the words; Lady Tsunade said that he needs to come around on his own. There has to be some way I can tell him how much he means to me…_

Then she had an idea…since she couldn't say the words, perhaps showing him was the answer. She decided to take his advice and be bold and daring for once in her life.

Hinata looked at him with all the love she could muster and said, "Fine, Naruto-kun. I forgive you." And then she smashed her lips against his, giving him the most soul searing, passionate kiss she possibly could while pressing her body tightly against him.

At first, Naruto was taken aback by the kiss considering she was just crying a few moments ago. However, that confusion quickly turned to lust as she forced her tongue into his mouth to dance with his. He wrapped his arms around her, emitting a low growl of pleasure at what was happening as his body started to react in certain ways from the heat of the moment. But just as his primal urges were about to take over, Hinata stopped and pushed him away.

He stood there like a statue, eyes as big as plates and arms held out in front of him, gasping for breath. "Huh? What…what the hell was that all about? What just happened?"

She smiled at him and said, "I…I just wanted to say thank you, Naruto-kun…for everything. But I couldn't say the words, so I thought I'd take your advice and _show_ you how thankful I was." Then she turned her head to the side and blushed a bit. "And I'm sorry, but I had to stop because I think you have…_other_ problems than what just happened to worry about right now."

Naruto was confused until he looked down and noticed the huge bulge in the front of his pants, quickly becoming embarrassed. "Gaah! Get out of my way! I need a cold shower, stat!"

He ran into the nearest bathroom, flinging his clothes off and jumping into the shower. Cranking the water temperature as cold as it would go, he stood there letting it run over him, hoping to get his 'ligament' problem under control.

"I know you did that on purpose, Hinata! I'll get you for this, mark my words!"

However, at the time she wasn't listening to him. She was sitting on the floor, hugging her sides and laughing silently to herself while thinking, _I could get used to this. Maybe being bold and daring isn't such a bad thing after all._

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As the two of them made their way back to the Hyūga compound, Naruto noticed that the villagers were staring at them with varied expressions…some of them were startled, some were amused and a few people blatantly laughed out loud.

When Naruto had jumped in the shower at the new house, it had completely slipped his mind that 'unfurnished' also meant 'no towels'. As a result, he had no way of drying himself off afterwards and was forced to put his clothes back on while he was still dripping wet, in addition to letting his hair dry naturally. Right now his clothes were soaked and his hair looked like an unkempt birds' nest.

Hinata, on the other hand was holding onto Naruto's arm with the happiest grin anyone had ever seen on her face. Since her appearance was still perfect, it was apparent to everyone on the street that whatever had happened, she was the one responsible for it.

As they walked, Hinata could see that Naruto still looked upset and she thought it best to diffuse the situation now, since she wouldn't see him again before the wedding tomorrow.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

"Huh? No, I'm fine." His face continued to stare straight ahead. "Why do you ask?"

She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was lying. "Are you still upset about what happened at the house?"

He sighed and said, "A little, yes. It's just that…look, I let my temper get the best of me today and I said some things that hurt you, and I'm sorry about that. And I appreciate the way you…thanked me, even though I think you did it on purpose…"

"Naruto-kun, I admit that I kissed you that way on purpose, but I really wasn't expecting your…umm, reaction like that. I didn't mean to do that and I'm sorry if I upset you."

He could hear the small amount of panic in her voice. "Hinata, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who said you need to be more outspoken, and you did exactly what I asked you to do. I was just…unprepared for it, that's all. But that doesn't change the fact that you still haven't answered my question."

"Question? What question is that?"

"What are you so afraid of?"

Hinata stopped walking and lowered her eyes to stare at the ground. The fear that gripped her heart kept her thoughts from becoming words; she didn't want to tell him because she was afraid of what he might say.

In a very small voice, she said "I'm…I'm afraid you don't really want to marry me."

"What was that?"

Her voice wavered as she said, "I'm…I'm afraid, Naruto-kun. I keep thinking that you really don't want to marry me, because father forced you into asking for my hand in marriage and that you're looking for a reason, _**any**_ reason to call the wedding off."

Naruto was stunned. _That _was what she was afraid of? The idea that he was looking for a reason not to marry her was utterly ridiculous.

Her lower lip quivered and tears silently fell from her eyes as she continued, "And I'm afraid that even if you do marry me, I'll wake up the next day and find that it's all been an elaborate dream and I'm still alone, carrying the burden of a life in the Hyūga compound with no future before me. That's not a life, it's a life sentence. I'm just so terrified of it all, and I...I can't bear it. I don't know what I would do if any of that happened."

Naruto stepped close and held her, unsure of what to say. Was her life in the Hyūga compound so horrible that her mind was creating imaginary scenarios in order to escape reality? Perhaps he had pushed too hard, too fast with her; in the space of a few short weeks he'd given her everything she ever dreamed of and apparently, she was afraid that it would all be taken away from her. It did sort of make sense when he thought about it, and maybe he needed to let her know that she wasn't alone with how she felt.

"Hinata, please don't cry. I understand what you're going through because I'm just as scared as you are."

She took her face away from his chest and looked into his beautiful blue eyes, not believing what she just heard. "Scared? You're scared too, Naruto-kun? Of...of what?"

He shrugged and said, "Pretty much the same things you are. Like when I proposed to you, for example. That night, I was just…so afraid you'd say no, and that I'd upset you so badly that you wouldn't want to marry me." The look on his face became haunted. "Or that someday, you'll find out all of the things I've done and you'll take the first opportunity to run away, leaving me miserable and alone."

Memories from his childhood came rushing back, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "You know that when I was very young, I had no friends. But what you don't know is that other kids would constantly play with my emotions. They would pretend to be my friend one minute and then run away, mocking and ridiculing me the next. Mentally, that's something you never forget, and you carry it with you for the rest of your life, thinking everyone else will be just like them." The color of his eyes had now turned deep cobalt. "And I'm afraid that's what you'll do, Hinata. That you'll look for an excuse to escape when it's convenient and beneficial, and move on to someone who doesn't carry so much…emotional baggage. And if that happened, I'm not sure I could take it…not now. Not with you."

Hinata was shocked. He was just as afraid as she was, afraid of losing her? Then maybe that meant…no, he hadn't said the words she so desperately wanted to hear. She felt a twinge in her heart because she'd unintentionally hurt him as well.

Mustering her courage, she looked at him with love in her eyes. "Naruto-kun, we've only been engaged for two weeks but in that short amount of time you've done so much for me…I've never had anyone care about me the way that you do, and my life would be empty without you in it."

She struggled to get the next words out. "And even thought I'm afraid that this is all still a dream, tomorrow we're going to be married and to me there is no greater bond than that. It's just as strong and powerful as the one between a mother and her children." She thought of Hikaru, and how she loved him just as much as her blond fiancé. "But believe me when I say that I'll never find an excuse to change my mind about marrying you, and I'll never run away from you, or from us. That's _MY_ promise of a lifetime to you."

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. _Maybe Kurama was right in what he said last week,_ he thought. _She said she won't run, like everyone else has. Maybe she __**will**__ be there for me now, like she was for me back then. But she still has twenty four hours to change her mind._

They arrived at the front gate to the compound and Hinata said, "I should go. There's still a lot to do before tomorrow, and I need to get a good night's sleep." She kissed him quickly, and even that brief touch made her lips tingle. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun." Her eyes twinkled as she added, "Don't be late."

Thinking that was the end of their conversation, she walked down the path to the house. However, before she had gotten too far she heard Naruto say from behind her…

"See you later, Hinata…hime."

Stunned, she paused for a moment before turning around to look back. But by the time she had, he was gone and his words still hung in the air, soothing her fears and easing her doubts. She smiled and reminded herself, _it's the little things he does that show me how much he cares. And it's why I love him so much._

.

* * *

.

Around the corner, Naruto thought about what had happened today. He knew there was still so much to do before the wedding tomorrow, so he'd decided to keep it simple and just show Hinata the house. He'd picked out the place because it was so unlike how her current home felt, and he wanted to give her someplace where she could blossom and grow, free from her father and his oppressive attitude. He could only imagine how truly horrible her life at the compound was, and the humiliation she endured these past eight years must have been staggering if she was under the illusion that this might all be a dream.

It surprised him to learn that her fears were similar to his own. He hadn't intended on telling her about his childhood since it wasn't her burden to bear, but when he did she'd made him the promise of a lifetime that no matter what happened in their lives going forward, she would never run away from him or what they have. That was an enormous commitment, and she was giving it to him freely, asking nothing in return. She deserved the same level of dedication from him, so who was he to give anything less?

He came to the conclusion that at midnight tonight, he would perform the ancient ritual. He hoped she accepted what he was offering, because he wouldn't blame her if she didn't.

.

* * *

.

Back at the compound, Hinata was walking down the path to meet her father. She needed to go over the final details of the wedding with him and make sure everything was ready for tomorrow, when she would become Naruto's wife. She thought to herself again..._Tomorrow I'll be Naruto's wife. _Even after two weeks, the words still made her giddy with happiness.

As she drew closer to her father's study, her happiness quickly turned to concern as she heard two voices yelling at each other from down the hall…

"…this is the best offer…Lord Isamu in the Land of…" The voice was that of her father.

"Father, you can't possibly…too old! There's no…" And that was the voice of Hanabi. By the tone of her words, something was wrong so she quickened her pace.

"He has offered…no one else has…"

"You can't….don't love…"

As she rounded the last corner, the voices became clearer and Hiashi said, "It doesn't matter if you love him or not. What he's offering is substantial, and it will strengthen the position of the clan as well. You will marry him, Hanabi. End of discussion."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then the door flew open and Hanabi came out, her eyes in tears as she ran down the hall towards her room. Hiashi came out a few seconds afterwards, his face impassive with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Otousan, what just happened? What did you say to her?"

"What I've said and done is of no consequence, and doesn't concern you. Hanabi will do what she must." He turned and motioned for her to follow him. "Now, let's go over the final details of the ceremony tomorrow. It needs to be perfect, since it will be a reflection of our clan. We can afford nothing less."

And it was in that moment Hinata realized what Naruto had been trying to accomplish, not only today but going forward in their lives. Her father had always been a cold individual, and she had lived under the yoke of his oppression for years because she and Hikaru had nowhere else to go. She was shy and reserved because of the way he treated her, and she was always afraid to tell him what she felt, because he either didn't want her opinion or didn't care what it was. However, the conversation with Naruto today gave her the courage to realize that things needed to change in her life, starting right now.

"No."

He turned and looked at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"You heard me, otousan. I said no." Her look became hard and unforgiving. "It's the day before my wedding, and you've said something to upset Hanabi in a very hurtful fashion. I'm not sure what you said to her, but right now she needs me more than you do." She turned and said, "You can finish the preparations and final walkthrough without me, because I guarantee that you don't want me in your company for the rest of the day." And she took off down the hall in search of Hanabi.

Hiashi was appalled that Hinata would talk to him in such a manner. He was sure the Uzumaki and his influence were to blame for her current attitude, and he was glad that after tomorrow the responsibility for them wouldn't be his anymore. As he closed the door behind him, he thought to himself, _Thank Kami once he marries her_, _the clan will be free of the shame my daughter and her illegitimate son have placed on us once and for all_.

.

* * *

.

Hinata was walking swiftly down the corridors of the compound in search of Hanabi. There were several places she could have ended up, but she needed to start somewhere and Hanabi's room was just as good a choice as any. As luck would have it, when she walked up to the door Hinata could hear uncontrollable sobbing coming from inside.

She knocked on the door. "Imōto? It's me, can I come in?"

"G...go away, nee-san. I…I don't want to ta…talk to…anyone right now."

Hinata ignored her and walked in anyway. The room was dark, and only by the light of the opened doorway could she see Hanabi, who was sitting in a corner, legs curled up to her chest and crying.

She turned on the light and asked, "Imōto, what's going on? What just happened? Why are you crying like this?"

Hanabi raised her head, and Hinata could see her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Her lower lip quivered as tears ran down her cheeks, and she tried to speak but no words came from her mouth.

Hinata walked over and sat down next to her, and immediately Hanabi threw her arms around her neck, still crying. Hinata rubbed her back to try and calm her down. "Imōto, please tell me what's wrong. What did father just say to you?"

"It's...it's my suitor."

"Father told you who he is?"

She nodded, sniffing and wiping some of the tears from her face. "His name is Isamu. He's a Lord from the Land of Iron."

It took a moment for Hinata to process that statement. "A _**Lord**_ from the Land of Iron? Not his son?"

Hanabi nodded.

She got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "How old is he?"

"He's fo...forty-six."

Hinata was appalled; that was more than twice as old as Hanabi was. "What the hell is father thinking? There's no way he could possibly..." Her voice trailed off as a thought popped into her head. "Let me guess. It has something to do with your dowry."

"Yes. Apparently, he's…he's so enamored of me that he has renounced the rights to my dowry and is offering father payment instead."

"How much, Imōto?"

Her eyes became haunted and she said, "Two hundred and fifty thousand Ryo."

Hinata blanched when she heard the number. Whoever this Lord Isamu was, he must want Hanabi very badly to offer such a large amount of money.

"What about Konohamaru? He comes from a well respected and honorable clan, surely..."

Hanabi started to cry again, burying her face in Hinata's shoulder. "Father said their offer wasn't enough, and…and his family can't afford it. They don't have the money to...to..."

There was no need to say anything else. The Sarutobi clan either didn't have the money to outbid the Lord or thought the amount was too high, and therefore the offer from Lord Isamu would stand.

Hinata began to put the puzzle pieces together. "So let me see if I have this right…father accepted a bid for your hand in marriage, and agreed to marry you off to someone over twice your age to – in his eyes, at least – strengthen the clan."

Hanabi could only nod, as she was still silently crying into her sister's shoulder.

"Your happiness isn't a factor; he's motivated by his lust for power and the large sum of money the clan will receive. And he told you this news on the day before my wedding to Naruto-kun, knowing that you would be upset and not bothering to care about the result."

Once again, she nodded.

"And finally, he threw it in your face that Konohamaru won't even be considered as your suitor because his family cannot pay ours enough." Hinata paused before saying, "Does that cover everything?"

"Ye…yes, nee-san. He…he doesn't care! He never cared! He's only interested in himself, and...and Konohamaru…I love him and…"

Hinata tried to get things back under control. "Imōto, please take a deep breath and try to relax. I need you to get a hold of yourself, okay? Please try for me…"

It took several minutes, but she finally got Hanabi to calm down for her.

"Hanabi, please look at me and listen for a moment."

Hanabi raised her tear streaked face and looked at her sister. Hinata could see the fear in her eyes at what she had just been sentenced to by her father…a life devoid of love, relegated to nothing more than breeding stock for a much older man, far away from the only home she'd ever known.

She looked at her sister with determination. "I know things seem hopeless right now, but I promise you I will do everything in my power to help."

"How? You can't help me, no one can! When father makes up his mind, he…"

Hinata forcefully interrupted her. "Hanabi, stop. I don't know what we'll do, but there has to be something. Let's try talking to Neji; Naruto-kun helped him understand a long time ago that fate can be changed, so maybe he can help us change yours." Smiling, she placed her hands on either side of Hanabi's face and said, "We will figure something out. Okay?"

Hanabi sniffed her nose again and nodded. "Ok, nee-san. I'm…I'm sorry about all this. I didn't mean to…"

Hinata stopped her once again. "It's not your fault, so please don't be sorry. The fault for what's happened belongs to father." She looked sideways at Hanabi and said, "Now, do me a favor and blow your nose. And then we will go find Neji and see if anything can be done."

However, the wheels in her mind were turning and every solution she came up with was a dead end. Hanabi was right; their father basically only cared about two things…power and money. If they couldn't find a way to overcome the enormous offer from Lord Isamu, then there was very little hope left for her sister and her future.

.

* * *

.

It was close to midnight when Hinata woke. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone had called her name.

"Hinata. Wake up."

She suddenly sat up in bed, clutching the covers to her chest. "Naruto-kun? What…what are you doing here?"

He moved out of the shadows, standing next to her bed with her robe in his hand. "There's someplace we have to go. Right now." He smiled and held up a robe for her to put on. "Please, we don't have much time. We have to be there by midnight."

Confused, she stood up and put her arms through the sleeves of the robe, tying the sash and asking, "Why the rush? And where are we going?"

Smiling, he didn't answer her but instead picked her up bridal style. She let out a tiny "eep!" as he leapt through the window, swiftly running across the rooftops of Konoha. He came to the wall surrounding the village, and pushing chakra into his feet proceeded to run straight up the side.

Her first reaction was to clasp her arms around his neck, as she could now look over his shoulder and straight down at the ground. When he reached the top, he jumped off causing her to bury her head in his shoulder and her grasp to tighten. He landed in the trees outside the wall and began jumping from limb to limb, whatever his destination was still clearly in mind.

She took her head away from his shoulder and said, "My legs work just fine, you know. I can do this myself."

"I know, but I like having you near me."

Hinata blushed. She would never get tired of his constant attention; it was becoming an obsession with her. She liked having him around to make her feel safe and warm.

After a few minutes of silence, she asked him again, "Naruto-kun, where are we going?"

He raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Then please have faith in me. I promise everything will become clear."

He didn't say another word as they continued through the trees. She brought her head down to rest against his chest, feeling his muscles ripple as he held her close. With everything that had happened today, being in his arms helped soothe her anxiety.

Suddenly he stopped and set her down on her feet. "We're here, Hinata-hime."

She looked around and noticed that they were in a small clearing, with a small fire to provide them with some light and heat. A bedroll lay on the ground at the edge of the darkness.

"Naruto-kun…what is all this?"

He smiled again and said, "It's something very important, and it needs to be done exactly at midnight. That's why we're out here at this hour."

Confused, she saw him bite his thumb and draw blood. _That's strange,_ she thought. _You do that when you perform a summon…_

He looked at her and quietly said, "Now you have to do the same."

She hesitated for a few moments before remembering his words…_Do you trust me?_ Then all doubt was gone and she bit her thumb and…nothing happened. She tried again and got the same result, embarrassed that she couldn't even draw blood when she needed to.

He chuckled and said, "Come over here and let me do it."

He bit her thumb and then placed her hand on the ground with his. As their blood mingled with each other, a symbol appeared on the ground and his chakra pulled hers into the circle.

A wave of dizziness overcame her, as her whole body felt like it was suspended in time and her vision became blurred. She clutched Naruto's arm, terrified of the unknown that was surrounding them.

His arm encircled her waist. "Shhh. Don't be alarmed; everything is fine. We're just being transported. This is perfectly normal when you do a summoning without a contract."

She nodded, trying to remain calm. To her relief, after a few moments everything stabilized. However, even though the fire remained the same it quickly became apparent that they were not in the same place. The area outside of the light of the fire was pitch black and there seemed to be no end to the darkness.

****WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?****

The being that manifested itself before them was a dragon, its scales a golden-copper color. The voice it spoke with carried the portent of vast power and ancient wisdom, one who had watched the ebb and flow of the universe throughout the eons of time.

And right now, it looked very angry.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. It is I who have summoned you."

It narrowed its eyes and looked at him. ****INDEED. AND WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE A FORBIDDEN SUMMON?****

"I am the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox. I am the Hero of the Leaf, Savior of the Shinobi World and child of prophecy. I am the next Hokage of Konohagakure."

Hinata looked at him, astounded that he could be so bold. He'd performed a forbidden summon for a creature that looked like he could kill them without a second thought, and he was speaking to it as if he were its equal. It was times like this when she wanted to give him a jyuuken strike to his stomach.

She put her hand to her mouth when the dragon brought his face close to hers, his breath hot upon her skin.

****WHO ARE YOU?****

She froze in place, thinking that if it was the last thing she did, she would get Naruto for dragging her into this mess.

Naruto tried to answer for her. "Her name is…"

The dragon's head snapped around and said, ****SHE CAN ANSWER FOR HERSELF, MORTAL.**** His gaze returned to her face and he repeated, ****WHO ARE YOU?****

Hinata blinked her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. With every bit of courage she could muster, she said, "Hinata Hyūga."

He nodded, satisfied. His head turned back to Naruto. ****YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE CALLED, DO YOU NOT?****

"I do."

****AND HOW IS IT YOU KNOW OF THIS SUMMON?****

"I am Gabriel of the Mienai Segi."

The dragon straightened his neck and said, ****AH, THE MIENAI SEGI. LATELY THEY HAVE BECOME MORE…****

"Bold?" He said with a hint of sarcasm.

****NO. DISRESPECTFUL AND IMPUDENT.****

Silence filled the air, thick with tension. Hinata was petrified; she was positive she was going to die in whatever place this was. Her thoughts turned to Hikaru, thinking she would never see him again and hoping that Neji and Tenten would care for him as if he were his own.

****YOU KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE CEREMONY, SHE MUST BE A NINJA.****

"She is."

The dragon paused for a few moments and then nodded. ****VERY WELL. LET US BEGIN SO THAT I MAY RETURN TO MY SLUMBER.****

Naruto turned to look at Hinata, and saw that she was in a state of shock. He didn't blame her, this was quite a bit to take in and he hoped she would forgive him for what was about to happen. He went to her and took her hands in his, crossing their arms and whispered, "Everything will be fine. I promise."

She didn't answer; and he was unsure afterwards if she ever heard him. They began walking around the fire, and with an imposing voice the dragon began to chant:

_**Two dragons come together, feel the drums together, dance together.**_

_**Two dragons dance together, take a chance together, sing together.**_

_**Two dragons sing together, take wing together, fly together.**_

_**Two dragons fly together, own the sky together, two dragons are as one. **_

Hinata was confused about what was taking place. This seemed like a ritual of sorts, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen and it was giving her goosebumps.

_**Above you the stars, below you the stones, and as time doth pass, remember...**_

_**You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.**_

_**You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.**_

_**Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.**_

_**Like a stone your love should be firm, and like a star your love should be constant.**_

_**Let the powers of the mind and intellect guide you,**_

_**Let the strength of your wills bind you together,**_

_**And the strength of your dedication make you inseparable.**_

Hinata was frightened and shaking, unsure of what was going on. However, when she looked over at Naruto he squeezed her hand, providing her with the confidence she needed to continue.

_**Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be a shelter to the other. **_

_**Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. **_

_**Now there is no loneliness for you, for each of you will be companion to the other. **_

_**Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you.**_

As the dragon finished the ceremony, Naruto stopped their walk around the fire and placed his hands on either side of her face. His blue eyes captured hers as he brushed his lips against hers and said, "Now you are mine, as I am yours, Hinata-hime."

As he kissed her, the emotions within her awoke yet somehow they seemed stronger, like they had multiplied. The sensations she was experiencing were above and beyond anything she had ever felt before, and it both frightened and excited her with how powerful it was.

****MORTAL.****

Naruto sighed, annoyed at being interrupted from kissing Hinata. "Yes, I remember…your slumber."

****AS A MEMBER OF THE MIENAI SEGI, I ASSUME YOU KNOW HOW TO END THE RITUAL.****

He nodded.

****THEN DO SO AND BEGONE.****

And before they knew it, the summon had vanished and they had been returned to their world. The endless darkness was gone and the forest was back, with the bedroll at the edge of the light of the fire.

Shivering, Hinata turned and said, "When he said 'end the ritual', what exactly did he mean?"

Naruto took her hands and said, "This." His voice was confident as he looked deep into her eyes and said, _"Unanimous Soul."_

As he finished the words, Hinata felt her spirit leave her body as if in some form of a time-space astral projection. However, instead of looking at her own memories, she saw the life of Naruto as the events quickly unfolded one after another…

…_She saw the blond as he was born, and the Yondaime making the seal on him. She felt the overwhelming grief of his decision at having to do this to his newborn son._

…_She saw Naruto at the orphanage, as the other children teased him, leaving him ostracized and alone._

…_The pain in not being acknowledged as simply a human being, and not understanding the reasons behind the harsh treatment he received from everyone._

…_The villagers chasing him during their many 'fox hunts', and him running in fear for his life._

…_She saw him joining the ninja academy, and being a part of team seven. She watched; hurt as most of his attention was devoted to winning the love of Sakura._

…_How he learned of Sasuke's sudden departure, and the despair that followed. She saw his promise to find him and bring him back to both himself and Sakura, no matter what the cost._

…_His training with Jiraiya, who was the closest thing to a father figure he ever had and the man he had affectionately called 'pervy-sage'. Based on the memories she was seeing, it was an apt nickname._

…_The fight with Pain, and her confession on the battlefield. It surprised her how vivid that memory was from the rest, as if it was more important than the others._

And then she realized that if she was seeing all of this, then Naruto must be seeing…

"No. Please, stop this."

…_She saw all of the battles that occurred during the fourth shinobi war. She watched as he saved the world with his actions and words, feeling a sense of pride that this man would be her husband._

…_She saw the horrible battle between him and Sasuke. How he had lost control and almost became the animal that was contained within him. _

…_His time with Sakura, and his futile efforts to make her love him. Her hurtful words as she broke off her relationship and how it had scarred him emotionally._

"NO!" She screamed, willing her subconscious to break the connection. The backlash from that action was so severe that she slid into darkness.

Her mind was still hazy as she woke up. She looked around and noticed she was leaning on his shoulder as they sat next to the fire, the bedroll covering both of them.

He brushed the hair back from her face. "How are you feeling?"

She looked at him and said, "I have a splitting headache, _thank you very much_. And what just happened?"

He smiled at her and said, "I'm sorry about that. I probably should have asked your consent before performing the ceremony."

She said in a small voice, "Yes, you should have." He somehow felt distant, and she wondered if he had seen who Hikaru's father was, since that was the main reason for breaking the bond.

_I apologize._

She turned to face him. He hadn't said the words, but she had somehow _felt_ his apology. Was she imagining things?

He said with a smile, "No, you're not."

"How…how do you know what…"

"What you were feeling? It's part of the seal." He gently lifted her right hand, saying "Push some chakra into the back of your hand."

As she did so, the seal became visible. It was a yin-yang symbol with a six-point zodiac seal around it, but the yang part was missing. Naruto then raised his own hand, and the same symbol appeared but his was missing the yin part.

"What…what is this, Naruto-kun?"

"It's called an amalgamation seal." He sighed and said, "Part of our training with the Mienai Segi was to form a bond with the other members of our team, as this allowed us to know when someone was injured or in danger during our missions. However, this variation shares emotions between a man and a woman; like a marriage ceremony of sorts. It blends and magnifies the spirit and makes sensations much more powerful." He looked sideways at her. "And before you ask, the answer is no – I can't read your mind. We can only perceive each other's feelings."

She stopped sending chakra into her hand and the seal faded. "Why…why did you decide to do this with me?"

His face became thoughtful. "I've been thinking about everything that's happened over the past two weeks. You've given me a family and a chance at happiness. Today, you gave me the promise of a lifetime that no matter what happens, you won't abandon me…or us, without asking for anything in return. And you may not know it, but you've offered me a chance to chase away the nightmares that have haunted me these last eight years."

A warm feeling caressed her soul, and she immediately knew it was from him. Blushing, she let him continue.

"What you've given me is the highest level of commitment, and you deserve no less from me. I made a promise of a lifetime to you and Hikaru to protect you with my life and care for you always, and I intend to honor that until the end." He pointed at his hand. "The bond that this seal provides will allow me to know when something's wrong and if so, I can be there in the blink of an eye."

She looked at him quizzically. "How can you possibly do that?"

He smiled and said, "Well, you wouldn't have any idea since I put it on you the night I proposed and you fainted, but your engagement ring has a Hiraishin seal inscribed on the inside of the band. I can travel instantly to wherever you are if I sense you're in danger."

He watched her look at the ring on her left hand, and a feeling of comfort washed over him. He chuckled and said, "It appears the bond exists, despite not being completed."

"You…you felt that?"

"Yes, I did. I found it rather nice."

She blushed again, but quickly realized that if the bond had been completed…

"Don't worry; I didn't discover who Hikaru's father was. You broke the process before I found out, and it wasn't my intention in the first place to learn who he was."

Did she hear sadness in his voice? Did the fact that he hadn't found out the identity of Hikaru's father cause him pain?

He looked at her and said. "You've had enough excitement for one night…I think it's time to take you home. There are only a few hours left before the wedding, and you'll need your rest for tomorrow…"

…And from the bond that the seal provided, Hinata knew _EXACTLY_ what he meant.

.

* * *

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A/N: Okay, once again to everyone who came from Nube de Cristal's original story, welcome. I hope you like what I'm doing with the story and the new content I'm adding.

_**I want to add a small part in my notes at the end of this story…I received word from a friend of Nube de Cristal's that she has been very ill lately. I don't know what's wrong, but I'm sure she would appreciate everyone keeping her in their thoughts for a healthy and speedy recovery. She might even like a PM of well wishes if you get the time. **_

As usual, I'm adding a small part here to explain some character development. You probably noticed that there are several parts in here where Hinata starts to come out of her shell a bit, and that's what I wanted. I love how she's shy and reserved but I also think it would be good for her – and the story going forward – if there are times she's more expressive. It won't be all the time, though so don't worry.

Also, in reference to the last part – in the original story the creature was a goose. Never got that…I went with a dragon instead; it seemed much more appropriate for an ancient summon.

Second, I had a reader PM me about my story recommendation for last chapter. Up until now, most of the stories I've recommended weren't NaruHina. I told everyone in the beginning as long as there isn't any bashing of other pairings and the writing is good, I read and recommend the story but this reader made a good point that THIS story is NaruHina and I should recommend some stories that have them as the main pairing. So, the next few recommendations will be just for them, and rightfully so.

_**Recommendation time!**_ Okay, for this chapter I'm throwing a HUGE recommendation to my fellow writer, KingKakashi. He's the reason I started reading FanFiction in the first place, he's the reason I'm writing this story and he's the first person I wrote a piece for. He has three fantastic stories out there, but the one I'm talking about is _**Naruto vs Sasuke – The Aftermath**_. It's one of my two favorites on FanFiction, and luckily enough, it just got updated and the latest chapter contains a VERY long, steamy and sexy NaruHina lemon scene that's probably one of the best I've ever read. If you're a NaruHina fan you NEED to check this one out and leave him a review, because his work is well worth your time and his effort. He deserves your support.

We're quickly coming to the end of the old stuff and getting to the new stuff so hopefully things will get less repetitive soon. Standard statement once again is that every chapter will have SOMETHING new; I'm just not sure how much.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	7. Somebody's Getting Married

_**Extra! Extra! Read all about it! It's Chapter 7, and somebody's getting married!**_

Okay, standard thanks once again to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as to my anonymous beta for his help and support.

So, what's new here? Pretty much everything, which is why it took so long to write, in addition to the fact that life has gotten in the way the last few weeks. I struggled with the idea of releasing one BIG chapter for the wedding or stretching it out over two or three. I opted for the second choice, and I hope you guys enjoy reading the upcoming chapters as much as I did writing them.

As always, I love the reviews, and I appreciate when people take the time to leave one for me. Since this is the first chapter that I've written where I didn't really use anything from Nube's original story, I really want to hear what people think.

I also want to mention something…Last week, I asked a reader of my story if they got the movie reference I hinted at in the disclaimer, to which they replied, "What movie reference?" I was a bit shocked, but for those who missed it, I wanted to explain why I do that.

My philosophy has always been that you need to go through life with a sense of humor. Every week, I reference a famous quote from a TV show (the yada yada yada was from Seinfeld) or a famous comedy movie (two chapters ago was from Spaceballs) and my hope is that when you see it, it brings a smile to your face and makes you laugh at least once as you go through your day. It's true that laughter is the best medicine, and life is far too short to be pissed off all the time.

Now, having said that…if you figure out this week's reference and you don't have to use Google to do it, I'm extremely impressed because the movie came out in 1984.

So remember – REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS! Love them, want them, need them, leave them!

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, and I feel like singing! One, two, three, four…**_

_**Somebody get some flowers, somebody get a ring!**_

_**Somebody get a chapel and a choir to sing!  
**_

_**Somebody get an organ to play! **_

'_**Cause somebody's getting married today! (+1 if you get the reference).**_

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Chapter 7 – Somebody's getting married!

It was a beautiful day at the park.

Hikaru was pushing his sister Kiseki on the swings, as she screamed at him to go higher while several meters away, a blanket was spread out beneath a large oak tree ready for a family picnic. Hinata was curled up in her husband's arms, watching their children play as she held their sleeping newborn daughter, Megumi close to her heart.

"A Ryo for your thoughts, my hime."

She smiled with satisfaction. "You don't need Ryo to know what my thoughts are, Naruto-kun. They're the same as always…of you and our children, and how much I love you."

"And I love you as well. Although I'm pretty sure when it comes to that, our children will always hold the majority vote in your heart. They do outnumber me three-to-one."

Hinata pouted. "You know that's not true! You will always hold the biggest piece, no matter what."

He looked slyly at her. "Really?"

"Well, maybe half of it. Let's see how the rest of the day goes."

Naruto laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around Hinata. "I'm glad you talked me into taking a day off from being Hokage. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time, and I don't think there's any way this day could be more perfect."

Hinata turned her head to look at her husband. "I can think of one way it could. Want to guess what it is?"

"There's no need. Your wish is my command, hime." Smiling, Naruto bent his head down to kiss her. However, a voice intruded on their moment.

_**HINATA.**_

Naruto looked around, startled. "Did you hear that?"

She didn't stop looking at him. "Ignore it. Care to finish what you were about to start?"

"Always." He smiled again, bending his head down to kiss her but the voice echoed around them one more time.

_**HINATA, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP.**_

The image of the park, her husband and her family disappeared in a swirl of colors as she opened her eyes to the sight of Neji shaking her awake.

"Hinata, it's eight o'clock in the morning. You need to get up and start getting ready; the wedding is in five hours."

Confused, she blinked her eyes several times and said, "Nii-san?"

"Yes, cousin. Are you okay? You look like you're still half asleep, and I'm not sure what you were dreaming about, but it was very hard to wake…"

"_NII-SAN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

The look on Hinata's face quickly changed from confused woman to enraged predator, and if looks could kill Neji would be dead several times over by now. Falling on his backside, he scrambled backwards on his hands and knees and asked, "What…what's wrong, cousin? All I asked was…"

"_YOU JUST WOKE ME UP FROM THE MOST WONDERFUL DREAM I'VE HAD IN YEARS, AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK ME WHAT'S WRONG?"_ She clenched her teeth and spat, _"GET OUT."_

"Hinata, I'm only trying…"

"_**OUT!"**_ she screamed, leveling a massive amount of killing intent at him.

Neji scurried out the door, swiftly closing it behind him as he listened to the screams of rage from within. He quickly walked down the hall, thinking that the last time he had seen Hinata this mad was when they were children and he'd accidentally eaten all of her cinnamon rolls without her getting even one.

_That must have been __**some**__ dream for her to be so angry at me,_ he thought_. I hope to Kami this doesn't last, otherwise Naruto is in for a very unpleasant honeymoon tonight._

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Across town in his hotel room, Naruto woke from a dreamless sleep. He was still a little tired from the summoning, but there was simply too much to do today for him to sleep in. Stretching, he got out of bed and placed a pillow on the floor, sitting in the lotus position to begin his meditation. But his goal this morning wasn't inner peace…at least not in the traditional sense.

Closing his eyes, he entered his mind and appeared in front of the cage that held the kyuubi and just like a week ago, he noticed that some drastic changes had taken place. The sewer had basically disappeared, and the sky was now a bright gray almost as if it were a blank canvas ready to be painted.

_**Good morning, kit. Sleep well?**_

_Not really Kurama, but at least I didn't have any nightmares last night._ He looked around at the landscape. _Things have changed again. When did all this happen?_

_**Last night after you completed the ceremony. I assumed that it was another positive sign.**_

_I certainly hope so. Contrary to how I appear both inside and outside, I'm feeling a bit nervous about today. She still has time to reconsider._

_**I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, especially after the promise she made to you yesterday. Unlike the pink-haired female, I believe that this one will keep her word and see it through to the end.**_

He sighed. _For the time being, I'll reserve judgment on that. After the last eight years, I'm too much of a pessimist to think she'll marry me until I hear the words, 'I do'._

Kurama chuckled._** I find it amusing after the events of the past two weeks that you still believe she'll run. Didn't the ceremony last night convince you otherwise? For all intents and purposes, she carries your mark and shares your essence.**_

_I know, and that's basically the only reason why I'm here right now._ Naruto paused for a moment, understanding the gravity of his next words. _I've been giving it some thought, and assuming that Hinata goes through with it and marries me, I...accept the terms of your offer._

Kurama raised his head from his front paws and stared hard at him. _**You asked me this last week when I made my offer, so I will ask the same of you. You understand what this means? What you will be required to do?**_

_Yes Kurama, I understand fully and I know what I have to do._

_**Swear to me, Naruto. Swear on the life of your one true mate that you will keep your word.**_

_As long as the wedding goes as planned, I swear to you that I will honor the agreement._

After a few moments, Kurama nodded. _**I accept your offer, Naruto. Do not make me regret this.**_

_You won't, Kurama. I promise_. He looked around. _There's a lot to do, so I should be going. But the meeting to complete our transaction will take place tomorrow, and I'll have Kakashi get everyone together at his office around two in the afternoon...will that be acceptable to you?_

_**I've waited this long, so one more day certainly won't matter in the grand scheme of things.**_ He paused a moment. _**And Naruto?**_

_Yes, Kurama?_

He bowed his head low. _**You have my gratitude. Thank you.**_

Naruto returned the bow. _You are welcome…friend._

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Hinata was sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair as her maid, Yui waited for her to finish so that she could braid it into an elaborate hairstyle for her wedding. Behind her, Hanabi sat on the edge of the bed, trying to maintain an outward semblance of calm even though on the inside she felt broken and lost.

The conversation with Neji yesterday had offered little help. In all honesty, it appeared he was just as shocked as they were that Hiashi had accepted the offer from Lord Isamu and immediately went looking for him to discuss the issue. The sisters had no idea what was said between them, but apparently it had changed nothing as Neji had left his office angry and shaken.

Hinata could only hope for a miracle for Hanabi, but for now she thought it might be best to keep her sister's mind occupied with other things.

"Imōto, could you have Neji find Hikaru for me? I haven't seen him all morning, and he needs to bathe and get dressed."

"Sure, Nee-san. I think I saw him running out of the compound this morning heading for the training grounds; I'll have Neji start looking for him there."

Hinata scowled. Hikaru knew this day was important to her; he should be dressing in his formal kimono and not out getting sweaty and dirty. He would get a firm scolding when Neji brought him here.

After several minutes, Hinata set her brush down and said, "Yui, when you style my hair please make sure to use the combs that Naruto-kun gave me. It's important that he sees me wearing them today."

"Yes, Lady Hinata." As she began to braid her hair, Yui noticed Hinata's face in the mirror. Having served the Hyuga household for so long – and in particular, Hinata – she could tell when something was wrong.

As her hands continued their work she asked, "What troubles you, Lady Hinata?"

Her eyes came back into focus and she looked at Yui in the mirror. "What? Oh, I'm sorry Yui. Did you say something?"

"Yes, I did. I asked what's troubling you because your thoughts seemed a million miles away."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Is what obvious?" Hanabi asked, coming back into the room and retaking her seat on Hinata's bed.

Yui smiled. "Your sister is troubled about something."

Hanabi looked at her sister and smirked. "I'm guessing it's about tonight, right Nee-san?"

Hinata blushed and replied, "I don't need you to remind me, Imōto. I'm nervous enough as it is, but that's not all I'm worried about. This day is very special to me and I hope it isn't ruined by…"

She trailed off, not wanting to say 'father'. Hinata knew it was still a sensitive subject, and Hanabi was one step away from a nervous breakdown. She thought it best to avoid anything that would mentally push her over the edge right now.

Feeling tense, her thoughts turned to what had happened last night in the forest, wondering if it had been real or if she'd imagined the whole thing. Wanting to confirm the event for herself, she raised her right hand and pushed some chakra into it, making the seal visible.

Hanabi saw it appear on the back of her hand and asked, "Nee-san…what is that?"

"Naruto-kun called it an amalgamation seal. He has one just like it, but the yin part is missing on his while the yang part is missing on mine."

"Cool." She continued to study it, her inquisitive nature coming to the surface. "What does it do?"

"It's sort of an emotional bond, where we can sense each other's feelings. Naruto-kun did this so that if he ever senses I'm hurt or in danger, he can be there to protect me."

Hanabi held her hand, tracing the outlines of the seal. "That is _**so**_ incredibly romantic." She looked at her sister and asked, "Does it work?"

Last night still being mostly a blur, she thought it might be a good idea to test it out. She smiled at Hanabi and said, "Let's see." She thought about how nervous and frightened she was and reached out to brush Naruto's essence. After a few moments, his essence caressed hers back.

Hanabi's eyes became wide. "Nee-san! I felt that!"

Hinata was surprised. She hadn't realized that someone else could feel the effects of the seal if they held her hand. "And what exactly did you feel?"

Hanabi thought about that for a moment before saying, "It's hard to describe, but the best word I can think of is…comfort." Her eyes became moist, and she looked at Hinata with a hopeful smile on her face. "It's like he's telling us not to worry, because everything will be all right."

She didn't miss the fact that subconsciously, Hanabi had said 'us' and not 'you'. Without knowing it, Naruto had given both her and Hanabi the courage to make it through the day, but it was still too depressing to think about what tomorrow would bring for her sister.

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of two male voices echoing down the hallway as they argued with one another.

"No! I don't need a bath! And why do I have to wear a fancy kimono?"

"Stop being difficult, Hikaru. Today is a very special day for your mother. You need to be presentable, and right now you look like an unkempt pigsty."

The door to her bedroom flew open, and Neji walked in dragging Hikaru by the scruff of his neck. It appeared the words 'unkempt pigsty' were fairly accurate, as both of them smelled rather bad and looked like they had been rolling around in the mud, their clothes torn in several places.

Hikaru saw the disapproving gaze his mother was leveling at him, and knew his chances of getting out of trouble were slim, but he decided to try anyway. He smiled at her and said, "Mom! You look so pretty!"

"Don't play innocent with me, Hikaru. You know very well how important this day is to me, and despite that you still disobeyed me. The only reason why you're not being punished right now is because I don't have the time to do it." She looked at Neji and asked, "Where did you find him?"

"He was at training ground twelve, throwing kunai at moving targets."

"If that's all he was doing, then why do you both look like that?"

Neji leveled a stern gaze at Hikaru and said, "Because when I told him it was time to go, he stubbornly refused and forced me to chase him down. His reasoning was that nothing important would happen until one o'clock, so he could still get in another hour or so of training." Looking back up at Hinata, his voice tempered somewhat as he finished, "He was very hard to catch."

Any other day, Hinata would be proud of the compliment Neji just gave to her son but today she wasn't in the mood for his disobedience.

She sighed and said, "Nii-san, please take Hikaru and make sure he washes thoroughly. Then see that he dresses in his formal kimono for the ceremony since we don't have much time. We have to be at the shrine at noon."

Nodding, he dragged Hikaru out of the room and down the hall towards the baths, despite his repeated protests that he didn't need one and was fine exactly how he was.

Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. _I know Hikaru can be difficult at times, but for the love of Kami why does it have to be today? _She opened her eyes and turned to her attendant. "Yui, please go and help Neji with Hikaru. Hanabi can help me finish here."

"Are you certain, Lady Hinata?"

Another round of screaming protests came from down the hall, followed once again by a stern response. Hinata frowned and said, "Unfortunately I know my son, and right now I'm _**very**_ certain that Neji needs your help far more than I do."

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He looked at the clock. Thirty minutes and ten seconds to go.

Time was moving painfully slow as Naruto waited in a small alcove of the shrine. His attempts at meditation to calm himself had been useless, so he'd settled for simply pacing back and forth in his kimono until the wedding was set to begin.

He was anxious to get the ceremony started. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he still carried a nagging doubt that Hinata wasn't going to show up and until he actually stood at that altar and saw her walking towards him, he wouldn't believe it.

He looked at the clock again. Twenty nine minutes and fifteen seconds to go.

That Kami damned clock was trying to torture him, he was sure of it. A Rasengan formed in his right hand as he got up close and personal with the object.

"You think you're REAL funny, don't you? Sitting on that wall, ticking away at a snail's pace without a care in the world as to what you're doing to my nerves. Well, how will _**you**_ feel when I drive a Rasengan though that smug little face of yours?" He lifted his arm, intent on turning the clock into tiny bits and pieces.

His arm froze as he was distracted by a knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, Iruka walked in followed immediately by Kakashi. They quickly put two and two together when they saw how close he was to the clock, the Rasengan in his hand and the slightly insane look on his face.

Iruka looked at him and asked, "Umm, hey Naruto…something wrong?"

"Yeah, Iruka-sensei there _**is**_ something wrong." He pointed his free hand at the clock. "This thing is mocking me. It's moving slow on purpose, and it needs to know I'm not someone _who should be fucked with right now!_" He reared his arm back again, ready to strike…

Kakashi leapt in quickly and caught his arm. "It's okay, Naruto…calm down. It's just a clock. It's not mocking you, I promise."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at it. "Are you sure, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, I'm sure. This is perfectly normal; you're just nervous about the wedding." Kakashi looked at his right hand. "Now can you please disperse that before someone gets hurt?"

The words seemed to snap Naruto back to reality, and he quickly dispelled the Rasengan and apologized. "Sorry, guys. I'm not sure what came over me…I'm just…"

Iruka grinned and replied, "Really, it's fine. I was the same way when I married Shizune. I thought the door to the men's bathroom was laughing at me when it got stuck and wouldn't let me out, so I destroyed it with a chakra-enhanced punch."

They all laughed a bit, diffusing the tension in the room before Naruto asked, "So is that why you guys are here? To check up on me and make sure I'm not having a nervous breakdown?"

Kakashi eye smiled at him. "Yes and no. We did want to check up on you, but I also have another purpose in mind." He pulled a storage scroll from his kimono and said, "Since today is your wedding day and you are adopting the Namikaze name, I have some things to give you."

Unrolling the scroll on the table, he placed his hand on the seal in the center and immediately several items popped up. Kakashi walked up to the first item and said, "These are your father's jutsu scrolls. I found them in the archives when I became Hokage, and now I'm returning them to their rightful owner, the last living Namikaze."

He picked up the second item. "This is a ledger that represents what's left in the accounts from your father's estate. It's now yours and I transferred ownership of the account to you this morning."

Handing over the checkbook, Naruto looked at the last entry and his eyebrows rose. _Five hundred thousand Ryo,_ he thought. Not bad at all. He silently thanked his father for the gift.

Kakashi moved on to the third item. "These are Jiraiya's jutsu scrolls. He left them to you in his will, along with the rights to any publishing residuals from the Icha Icha series." He picked up the fourth item. "And this is a ledger that represents what's left in the accounts from his estate. As his sole heir, the rights to these are now yours and I transferred ownership of them to you as well."

"I…I was his sole heir? He left everything to me?"

Kakashi's lone eye looked at him sadly. "Yes, Naruto. You may not know this, but your parents made Jiraiya your godfather. He never married and didn't have any children…at least not that we could find. So by default, the rights to his entire estate fell to you." He handed the checkbook over to Naruto and said, "I know he would have wanted you to have the scrolls. As well as this."

Naruto's eyes grew wide when he saw the number. "Three million Ryo?"

Kakashi eye smiled at him and said, "I'm sure you'll put it to good use rebuilding either the Namikaze or Uzumaki clan. Who knows? Maybe it'll be both."

He smiled at Kakashi and said, "Thank you. I don't think I've ever received better presents in my life."

"Oh, I'm not through yet." Kakashi produced one final storage scroll and said, "This isn't a gift from your Hokage. This is from me personally." He unrolled the scroll and placed his hand in the center.

A dark grey kimono appeared, embroidered on the back in yellow with the Namikaze crest. Kakashi gingerly picked it up, brushing off some stray dust that he thought he saw on it.

"This belonged to your father…my sensei. He left it in my care to give to you when you finally decided to settle down and get married."

He placed it in Naruto's shaking hands. "I know your father would be very proud of you, Naruto. And Iruka and I are proud of you as well. You honor his memory with the man you have become."

Naruto studied the kimono for a few moments, tracing the outline of his family crest with his fingertips. Gently setting it down, he turned and hugged Iruka and Kakashi fiercely and said, "Thanks, guys…for everything. You don't know how much this means to me."

They hugged him as well, slapping him on the back. It was Iruka who spoke first. "You're welcome, Naruto. Now, how about you try your dad's kimono on for size?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, not just yet. I think I should get these other items home for safekeeping; they're too valuable to just leave sitting here at the shrine." He put his hand in the center of the storage scroll, resealing the jutsu scrolls and ledgers inside of it.

"We can take care of that for you, Naruto. I'll just get one of the Anbu to…"

"It's not a problem, really. Here, hold this." He produced a three-pronged kunai with the Hiraishin symbol engraved on the hilt and gave it to Iruka. Grabbing the storage scroll, he smiled and said, "Be back in a flash!" And with that, he disappeared.

Iruka looked at Kakashi and asked, "You think he'll be okay? He did seem a little on edge when we walked in."

"Yeah, I know. He'll be fine once the ceremony starts and it shouldn't be long now…"

They both looked at the clock. Twenty five minutes and thirty seven seconds to go.

Kakashi's eye narrowed and a Chidori appeared in his right hand. "You know, I think Naruto was right. That clock _**is**_ mocking us…"

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The shrine was filled to capacity with friends and family. In fact, a large number of guests decided to stand in the back rather than miss out on a chance to see what was being called the wedding of the decade. It's not often a person gets to see someone as important as the Hero of the Leaf and Savior of the Shinobi World get tied down and become a family man, all in the same day.

Everyone was waiting patiently until a small noise caught their attention, as a door next to the altar opened up and Naruto came out, resplendent in his father's kimono. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to stand next to his best man, Iruka and nodded his thanks to his groomsmen, Neji and Konohamaru. However, he knew something was wrong as they turned their faces to acknowledge his thanks.

He leaned over and whispered, "Iruka-sensei, what's up with Konohamaru? His face looks like he ate a bad plate of sushi, and Neji looks like someone just died."

"I have no idea, Naruto. I noticed it as well but haven't had the opportunity to ask them yet. Maybe we'll have the chance at the reception later."

Naruto barely had time to nod in agreement before the music started to play, and the doors at the back of the shrine opened. The first person through the doors was Tenten, wearing what Hinata had chosen for her bridesmaids, which was a striking lavender peacock kimono with butterfly sleeves and a magnificent floral pattern in shades of pink, gold and green. She walked slowly up to the altar, smiling at Neji before turning to the left to stand and wait.

Shizune was the next one down the aisle, and she gave Iruka the same smile that Tenten had given Neji. She walked to the front and turned to the left, standing next to Tenten.

Hanabi was the last person to enter before Hinata, however Naruto could tell the smile on her face was forced and she had the same haunted look on her face that Konohamaru wore. She walked down the aisle staring straight ahead, not even glancing at Konohamaru as she turned to the left to stand next to Shizune.

Before he had a chance to contemplate what he just saw, the music changed and the guests who had been seated rose. At the back of the shrine, Hiashi appeared with Hinata on his arm. All eyes were on her as she slowly walked down the aisle, looking radiant in her white kimono with embroidered floral patterns and silk tassels.

Along with everyone else, Naruto couldn't help but stare. He'd traveled to many lands and seen lots of beautiful women, but right now he could honestly say he'd never seen anyone look more beautiful than Hinata looked right now. Not Princess Koyuki, not Sakura…Nobody.

As they reached the front Hiashi gave her to Naruto, and his look made it very clear that he was more than happy to do so. Naruto was itching to wipe that grin off of his face, but this wasn't the proper time or place so he shoved that desire to the back of his mind and took her hand, slightly bowing in thanks.

As she stepped onto the altar and faced him, he looked at her and mouthed the word "Wow." She smiled at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears as he held her shaking hands. At this point, a grinning Tsunade stepped up to the altar to begin the ceremony.

"Friends, family and honored guests, we are gathered here together to witness and celebrate the union of _Hinata Hyūga_ and _Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze_ in marriage. They have come to realize that their personal dreams, hopes, and goals are more attainable and more meaningful through the combined effort and mutual support provided in love, commitment, and family. And with that, they have made the decision to live together as husband and wife."

"True marriage is more than just the joining of bonds between two people; it is the union of two souls, united in love and light. It lives on in the love you give each other, never grows old, and thrives on the joy of each new day. When two people are married they blend together as one heart, one mind, and one spirit. In mathematics, one plus one equals two but only in marriage can one plus one…truly equal one."

"Naruto and Hinata, today you choose each other before your family and friends to begin your life together. Let your love and friendship guide you as you learn and grow together, and through your partnership may you triumph over the challenges in your path. Through the comfort of loving arms, may you be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and a home of warmth and understanding. May you always be able to confide in each other, laugh with each other, and share moments of quiet and peace when the day is finished."

Tsunade closed her book and took a step back. She looked at the gathering and said, "I'm told that the bride and groom have written their own vows, and will read them now."

Nodding, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He cleared his throat and said, "Hinata, it amazes me that you are standing in front of me right now, because I can think of no greater challenge than marrying me." A few chuckles came from the crowd upon hearing this. "In front of everyone here today, I again make you the promise of a lifetime that I'll protect and care for you and Hikaru always. I pledge to you endless strength that you can count on when you are weak; I will encourage you in your successes and support you in your failures. I promise to hold you when you cry, to care for you when you are sick, to softly kiss you when you are hurting, and to be your companion and your friend, on this journey that we make together."

Hinata was overcome with joy at the words Naruto had spoken to her. He'd just publicly announced his acceptance of both her and Hikaru to everyone present, including some of the most powerful people in the elemental nations. Tears fell silently from her eyes and stained her cheeks, as her lower lip quivered with emotion.

There were several "oohs" and "aahs" heard throughout the crowd, as well as sniffles from some of the more emotional people. Naruto put his vows away and looked at Hinata, waiting to hear what she had written.

Hinata wiped some tears from her cheeks, and then lifted her paper to read the vows she'd prepared but when she tried, she couldn't speak.

Concerned, Naruto looked at her and whispered, "Hinata? Are you okay?"

She looked up from the paper she held and stared straight into his eyes, which had turned a bright sapphire blue. Right away, she knew she wouldn't be able to read anything and handed the paper off to Tsunade.

Tsunade said, "Well, it appears that our bride is at a loss for words." Again, there were several small chuckles from the crowd. "I'm assuming you want me to read your vows for you?"

Blushing and slightly embarrassed, Hinata nodded at this.

Tsunade held up the piece of paper and read, "Naruto-kun, when we were young I had always hoped that we would end up here, in this moment. You balance me, you challenge me, and you encourage me. You are my strength and comfort when I need it most, and you believe in me even when I find it hard to believe in myself. You are my inspiration, and my soul's fire. You have saved me from loneliness and offered me freedom. You are my breath, my every heartbeat, and in your eyes I have found my home. On this day, I give to you my promise that I will walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring as I join my life to yours."

As Tsunade finished, she noticed that the sniffling in the crowd had turned to outright sobbing. She folded the paper back up and returned it to Hinata, who appeared to be struggling to stay upright.

Tsunade leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Breathe, Hinata. Just a few more minutes and it'll all be over."

Hinata nodded, but inside she was unsure if she would make it that long.

"We will now perform the ritual of San-San-Kudo." Tsunade gestured to three cups of sake sitting on the altar and said, "I hope you like the vintage. It's from my private stock."

There were more than a few laughs at this before the crowd quickly became quiet again as the bride and groom approached the altar. Naruto took the smallest cup of sake and sipped from it before passing it to Hinata. The process was repeated with the medium and large cups before they walked back to their original places.

"And now, with the divine guidance of Kami and the authority granted to me by the Daimyo, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Tsunade smirked and finished, "Naruto…you may kiss the bride."

Hinata thought Naruto would simply give her a formal kiss, but apparently he was having none of that. A lecherous grin appeared on his face as he quickly picked her up bridal style, bringing her body close to his.

Her arms encircled his neck in shock before she exclaimed softly, "Naruto! Please put me down; everybody is looking at us."

His eyes smouldered as he said, "I don't care. Let them look."

He dipped his head and gave her a kiss that made her toes curl from the emotional force of it. She melted into the kiss, returning it with an equal amount of passion and was a moment away from losing consciousness when he set her back on her feet, dazed and lightheaded.

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause along with more than a few whistles. However, the applause nearly doubled in volume as Naruto motioned towards Hikaru, who was standing in the front row to come and join them. Quickly running up to the altar, Hikaru was startled as Naruto picked him up to share in a three-way hug with Hinata and himself before setting him back on his feet.

Tsunade declared, "Everyone, I present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."

The applause continued as Naruto, Hinata and Hikaru walked back down the aisle hand in hand, radiating happiness to each other through the bond that they shared.

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A/N: Okay, I know everyone is going "WOW, was that chapter short!" You're right, but it was either release this _OR_ have everyone wait for me to finish the entire scene, which might have taken another month based on how my life has been going. I thought everyone might enjoy some new content, and any reviews I get will help me tweak the next chapter as well.

I really did quite a bit of research for the wedding since I wanted to incorporate traditional Japanese ceremonies with a bit of western culture and hopefully I've done that. A lot of what happened here was referenced from my own wedding, especially the part about Hinata not being able to say her vows and her general nervousness. And in case you're wondering, this part of the story will be long because I'm a big fan of weddings.

As usual, I'm adding a small part here to explain some plot development. I had a few readers from last chapter talk about the situation with Hanabi and Konohamaru. Rest assured, this is addressed in the next chapter. And to my reader **Rinnealex** who was concerned about the Hiashi issue, this will be cleared up in next chapter as well. So stay tuned!

So moving forward, you're going to see mostly new stuff from me with a smattering of stuff from Nube for fill-in material. She did have some great stuff I still want to use, but the content will swing more in my favor from here on out.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	8. The Reception

**_You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop, Chapter 8…The Wedding Reception._**

Okay, standard thanks once again to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as to my anonymous beta for his help and support.

So here we are; part 2 of the wonderful world of weddings. I had most of this already worked out before I released the last chapter but I wanted to tweak it based on the reviews I received and that's exactly what happened. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Before we begin, I would like to respond to the guest who posted the review with the following words: _…the wedding was romantic, which was odd because neither Hinata nor Naruto really used the word "love" in their vows._

The fact that you caught it shows attention to detail and just so you know, I did this by design. Hinata loves Naruto, but she thinks he loves Sakura more than her. Naruto loves Hinata, but he thinks Hinata loves Hikaru's father more than him. So they intentionally avoided using the word love in their vows for that reason. You should notice that it didn't stop Tsunade, though. And they will learn of their love for each other rather soon, I promise.

As always, I love the reviews, and I appreciate when people take the time to leave one for me. As we're now getting into my original work, I really need everyone's help in making sure the story is great going forward and the reviews are the best way to make that happen. So leave them soon and leave them often, because I love getting them!

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, and I still feel like singing! Let's do the second verse!**_

_**Somebody get a preacher, somebody bake a cake!**_

_**Somebody get some shoes and rice and presents to take!**_

_**Somebody get some sexy lingerie!**_

'_**Cause somebody's getting married today! (Same reference as last week because I love the song).**_

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Chapter 8 – The Reception

The reception hall was packed to capacity as the wedding party made their way to the head table to be seated. As Naruto looked out over the crowd, he noticed that the Fire and Sand Daimyo and their attendants had been seated at the very front. After that came other members of nobility and behind them were the five Kage of the elemental nations, each with their own entourage. Clan heads were seated after that, and minor guests at the back.

It appeared that without asking, Hiashi had arranged the seating chart so that the more important you were, the closer you sat to the head table. Of course, as father of the bride he made sure to get a seat right up front next to the Daimyo which Naruto knew was more than just a simple coincidence.

After giving the bride and groom a few minutes to settle in, Iruka stood up and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, waiting for the room to quiet down before starting to speak.

"The bride and groom would like to thank everyone for sharing in their special day. I know some of you came from a great distance, and they greatly appreciate your presence here at this joyous occasion. And as the best man, I'm supposed to give a speech, so I'd like to say a few words about our newly married couple."

"Naruto, you certainly have come a long way from the loudmouthed prankster everyone knew when you were younger. I mean, who could forget that you were the one responsible for painting the third Hokage's face on the monument to look like Might Guy? Complete with a 'flames of youth' speech bubble?"

There were more than a few laughs at this, as many in the audience either pictured or remembered the prank from many years ago.

"Or how about the time you made the sneezing powder explode in the Inuzuka compound?"

This brought another round of laughs as everyone heard Kiba's voice shout from the back, "That was _YOU_, Naruto?"

"Then there was the time you replaced all the sake in Lady Tsunade's office with drinking water."

"_**OKAY**_, Iruka-sensei…we all get it; no need to continue telling everyone the entire list. And for the record, I only switched the sake because Shizune told me that Baa-chan had been drinking _**way**_ too much that month."

A large round of laughter erupted from the crowd and many even clapped their hands in amusement, but Shizune had gone pale at the confession and Tsunade looked less than pleased.

"Well, despite that…you've accomplished a great deal since then. You've saved this village along with many others, and everyone here owes you a debt of gratitude. But today, I believe thanks shouldn't be given to you, but rather to your lovely bride."

Iruka turned and said, "Hinata, I can honestly say that you're the best thing that could ever happen to Naruto. Even from when you were younger, everyone knew how much you cared for him and I know that you will both be very happy together. I'm glad that you've finally gotten him to settle down, and hopefully having such a beautiful wife will ensure he doesn't disappear from the village again."

He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and finished, "You two were truly meant for one another, and I wish you both the best of what's yet to come." He raised his glass and said, "A toast to the happy couple!"

Glasses clinked as everyone toasted to their health, though before it could get loud again Tsunade stepped up to the head table and took the place Iruka had been occupying just moments earlier, gesturing for Naruto and Hinata to stand up.

Looking out at the crowd she said, "I know this is a little out of the ordinary, since no one was expecting me to make a speech here at the reception." She turned to look at Naruto and Hinata. "The two of you will receive many gifts today to help start your new life together. But _**mine**_ is special, and I wanted to give it to you now so that by this time tomorrow, everyone in the village will know about it."

Tsunade produced a scroll, and gave it to Naruto without saying a word. Curious, he opened it and as he read the contents of the scroll, his eyes became wide as he stared at her in disbelief.

"Naruto-kun, what is it? What does it say?"

Stunned into silence, he handed over the scroll to Hinata for her to read, his hands shaking as he did so. She quickly read the scroll, and her face became shocked as she said, "Lady Tsunade…is this what you were talking about that day in your office? Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, Hinata it is…it's a formal adoption agreement." She turned and said, "Naruto, you're the closest thing to family I have left in this world. I can think of no greater joy in my life than having you, Hinata and Hikaru officially be my grandchildren, and in return be part of your extended family." She gave him a little smile and finished, "You have the right to refuse, of course. But…"

That was as far as she got before Naruto enveloped her in a fierce hug, tears falling shamelessly from his eyes. More than a few people cheered, and the crowd erupted once again in thunderous applause.

"Thank…Thank you, Baa-chan. I've been given so many wonderful gifts today, but yours is the biggest by far." He hugged her tighter and said, "I...I love you very much."

Tears fell from Tsunade's eyes as the smile on her face became a full-fledged grin. She hugged him back and said, "You're very welcome, gaki. And I love you too."

Tsunade broke off their embrace, and then turned to Hinata and hugged her as well. She whispered in her ear, "So Hinata, what do you think? Do you like my gift?"

"It's…It's wonderful Lady Tsunade. I hope it has the effect you were looking for and helps his heart begin to heal. Thank you, thank you so very much."

"You're welcome as well, Hinata. But you can call me Baa-chan now, if you like."

Hinata blushed and exclaimed, "No! No, I would never do that!"

Tsunade laughed and said, "We'll work on it. We can have a little family get together later this week, but for now let's just enjoy the festivities."

The applause died down, conversations were started and more than a few important people came up to the head table to personally congratulate the happy couple. Her new husband seemed to be on a comfortable, first name basis with just about everyone in a position of power and seeing it in person was quite different than being told it was true.

After about thirty minutes or so, the first round of food was brought out to everyone. While most people were served Daifuku (a very delicate seafood flavored soup), Hinata had made sure that Naruto and Konohamaru were served several bowls each of miso ramen from Ichiraku.

Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto kissed his wife happily and picked up his chopsticks. Eating the first bowl in record time, he prepared to dig into the second before noticing that Konohamaru hadn't even started yet. In fact, he was just playing with the noodles, chopsticks in hand and a downtrodden look on his face.

_He's had that same look all day_. _And now that I think about it, Hanabi and Neji have both had strange looks on their faces as well. Something's going on, but what is it?_

"Hey Konohamaru, is something wrong? C'mon, dig in…its Ichiraku ramen, for Kami's sake!"

"What? Oh, sorry boss...I'm sure it's great, but I'm just not very hungry right now."

Okay, _**now**_ he was worried. Konohamaru would never turn down Ichiraku ramen, not in a million years.

And the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that the problem was between Hanabi and Konohamaru, and Neji knew what it was. Placing his chopsticks on the table, he leaned over to Iruka and whispered in his ear, "Can you do me a favor, Iruka-sensei? Have Neji meet me on the outside balcony, please."

Iruka whispered back, "Umm, sure Naruto. No problem. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, I just need to ask him something in private."

He stood and walked out to the balcony, waiting patiently. After a minute, Neji joined him and asked, "Something wrong, Naruto?"

"Yes, Neji…something _**is**_ wrong and I'm betting you know what it is." Naruto stared at him and said, "Konohamaru and Hanabi both look like someone just ripped their hearts out. Neither of them have spoken to or looked at each other all day, and Konohamaru just told me that he's not hungry for Ichiraku ramen. And that _**never**_ happens."

Neji tried to play innocent and said, "Maybe they had an argument."

"Wrong, Neji. Because I remember seeing your face at the shrine earlier, and you looked like someone had just died. It's too much of a coincidence. You know what's going on, so spill it."

Neji sighed, defeated. "Okay, Naruto. I didn't want to tell you this at your wedding because I knew you'd be upset, but the problem is…Hanabi's suitor."

"Excuse me?"

"The problem is her suitor, Naruto. His name is Isamu, and he's a Lord from the Land of Iron."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he thought about that last statement. "How old?"

"Naruto, I don't think…"

"I asked you a question, Neji. How old is he?"

Neji took a deep breath and said, "He's forty-six years old."

After a few moments, a smile broke out on Naruto's face but his voice had a deadly undertone to it as he said, "Neji, go get Hiashi and bring him out here. Right now."

"Naruto, I know you're angry but this really isn't the time or place to have an argument with my uncle. There's six hundred wedding guests in there, including two Daimyo and you don't want to cause a scene and ruin this day for Hinata."

Naruto looked him in the eye and said, "Neji, I give you my word that while we're here at the wedding I won't raise my voice or make a scene in any way. Okay?"

Neji activated his byakugan to see if Naruto was lying. Satisfied that he was telling the truth, he nodded and went back in to get Hiashi.

Naruto waited until he was out of sight. _Kurama, I need a favor._

_**Oh? And what might that be?**_

_There's no way I'm going to let Hiashi marry off his daughter to someone who's forty-six years old. I've got a plan to change his mind, but knowing him he probably won't accept it because he's a stubborn asshole who would rather die than lose an argument to me. That's where you come in._

_**You've made me curious. What exactly did you have in mind?**_

_For the sake of Hinata, I'm going to try and reason with his sense of morality but I'm willing to bet that isn't going to work. So if I can't reason with him, I'm going to scare the shit out of him until he agrees to my demands. Would you like to help?_

Kurama chuckled. _**Consider it done. The scent of that human makes my nose cringe. What do you need from me?**_

_Depending on how the conversation goes, I might need to borrow your power for a couple of minutes, but I need to make sure that I don't lose control if that happens. Can you do that?_

_**If I allow it, yes. I'll consider it a leap of faith on our agreement.**_

He heard footsteps coming towards him. _Thanks, I'll let you know if and when I'll need you. _

Neji came through the doorway with Hiashi in tow, looking irritated. "You've taken me away from my guests, Naruto. What do you want?"

"Hello, Hiashi." Once again, he produced the three-pronged kunai with the Hiraishin seal on it and stabbed it up to the hilt in the balcony railing before saying, "I believe we have some things to discuss."

He placed his hands on the shoulders of both Neji and Hiashi, and everyone disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

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The three men reappeared at a training ground on the outskirts of Konoha. Neji and Hiashi were a bit unsteady at first, so they sat down and waited for the queasiness to pass.

Hiashi said, "Where…Where are we?"

"Training ground twenty-six. It's the one farthest from the village, and therefore the most isolated. I come out here when I need to blow off some steam because _**no one can hear me**_**.**"

Neither one of them missed the special emphasis Naruto put on the last part of the sentence. Feeling less disoriented, both men stood up as Hiashi glared at Naruto and said, "Why did you bring us all the way out here?"

"Because Hiashi, I wanted to ask you some questions and I promised Neji that while we were at the wedding, I wouldn't raise my voice or cause a scene." He looked around and said, "We're no longer _**at**_ the wedding, so I can do whatever the fuck I want right now."

Neji immediately realized that he'd been tricked. Naruto had technically been telling the truth when he made that promise, but his plan all along had been to transport them out here. Hinata had been right when she'd said Naruto wasn't the ignorant knucklehead he used to be; he was far more cunning and devious, and he vowed to be very careful around him in the future.

"And right now, I want answers. I want to know what the hell was running through your mind when you promised your daughter's hand in marriage to a man more than twice her age."

"That's none of your concern, and you have no right to ask."

"Wrong, Hiashi. The marriage contract we both signed says that I'm now a member of your _**renowned**_ clan. That gives me the right to ask and be answered."

Outmaneuvered and not liking it, Hiashi narrowed his eyes and said, "It's actually very simple. Lord Isamu made the best offer for Hanabi's hand. Now that you've married Hinata, you're the one responsible for her and I see no reason to further delay accepting his proposal."

Neji thought there was something odd about that last statement. "Further delay, uncle? Does that mean that you've been waiting for some time to accept Lord Isamu's offer?"

"Yes, four months to be exact."

Naruto and Neji stood there, dumbfounded. He'd known about this for four months?

"I've been secretly looking for a suitor to marry Hinata for over a year, and despite my overtures – and promise of a large dowry – I couldn't find anyone who wanted to accept the responsibility for her, or her bastard child. Nobody was aware that I'd been looking for that long, not even you Neji."

"Four months ago, Lord Isamu came to the clan and asked for Hanabi's hand in marriage. I couldn't accept the offer until I found someone to marry Hinata, so I decided to keep his identity a secret until I did. And then you came along, blissfully unaware of how long I'd been looking for someone to pawn Hinata off to, or the identity of Hanabi's suitor. When you suggested Naruto, I realized that this would be the perfect opportunity."

Wearing the same smug grin on his face that he'd shown at the ceremony, he looked at Naruto and said, "Neji suggested you because he knows how much my daughter cares for you, but my reasons had nothing to do with that. I knew your sense of honor and self-sacrifice wouldn't allow you to let Hinata be tossed out on the street so I played the fool, letting everyone believe that I was acting in my daughter's best interest when in fact I was acting in the best interest of the clan."

He shrugged and finished, "And now the dance is done. You married Hinata, I can marry Hanabi off to Lord Isamu and no one can stop me from doing so."

Looking at each other, Naruto and Neji realized they'd both been deceived the entire time. Neji was sure Naruto had a plan to fix this and nodded as if to say, _whatever you have in mind, you have my full support_.

Naruto took a deep breath and said, "Okay, Hiashi…let's see if I can't get you to change your mind about this. This Lord Isamu might be a noble, and he may offer you some level of power but right now I have the highest nobility in the Fire and Sand Daimyo waiting for me back at the reception. And then there are the five Kage, as well as Princess Koyuki and various other nobles and village leaders. I'm on a first name basis with every single one of them, and they all owe me a great debt."

"And don't forget the fact that I'm going to be Hokage. I promise you that if you follow through with this, as long as I'm in that office I'll do my absolute best to make life miserable for the entire Hyūga clan." He smirked and said, "With the sole exception of Neji and Tenten, of course."

Hiashi scoffed and said, "Irrelevant. I can form my own political alliances without your help, and until you actually become Hokage, your promises are hollow. Even then, I don't think you'll be able to follow through on anything because I hold too much power with the council."

Naruto's thoughts turned inward. _Kurama, you better get ready. This conversation is turning out just like I thought it would, so I think we're going to have to go ballistic on his ass._

_**I agree, and I've prepared my chakra for your use. However, before you do I believe you may be missing something important.**_

_What's that?_

_**This human craves power and money above all else. You just offered him the former, and yet he wasn't swayed by your words. I'm guessing the latter means more to him and may change his mind, although the chance of that still remains slim. **_

Kurama had a point. He looked at Hiashi and said, "Okay, how much?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Hiashi, that I just offered to put you on friendly terms with quite a few high ranking political figures and you didn't bite. There's two things you crave, and that's power and money. I just offered you the first one, and you didn't even flinch so there has to be some amount of money involved here." His eyes turned cobalt blue and his voice became cold. "So I'll ask you again…how much?"

"I don't think that's…"

Neji interrupted him and said, "Two hundred and fifty thousand Ryo."

Hiashi gave him an icy stare, and to his credit Neji gave him the same look back, not flinching in the slightest.

Naruto was appalled. He had always thought that deep down, Hiashi cared for his daughters and their happiness. But after hearing his words and learning the true motivation behind it all, he wondered if the world would be better off without him in it.

_**I would be happy to eat him, if you wish. I wonder what he tastes like.**_

In the real world, Naruto chuckled. _Probably like rotten apple cores. He might make you sick._

Hiashi noticed him laughing and asked, "Is there something you find amusing, Naruto?"

"The kyuubi wondered what you'd taste like if he ate you, and I said probably rotten apple cores. We both found that funny."

The smug expression vanished from Hiashi's face. Naruto saw this, knowing he had the upper hand now and decided to make his final offer.

"Alright, here's the deal. Tomorrow, you're going to refuse the offer from Lord Isamu. I don't care how you do it, but make sure he doesn't come within one hundred yards of Hanabi ever again. You have my word that I won't make your life a living hell when…and it's not if, but _**when**_ I become Hokage. And finally, you're going to let Hanabi marry Konohamaru and not interfere with their happiness. If you agree to all of this, then I'll double the offer from Lord Isamu and pay you five hundred thousand Ryo."

Their eyes became wide when they heard the number and Neji asked, "Naruto…do you have that kind of money? Where did you get it?"

"I have the money, and where I got it is unimportant. The only thing that matters now is my proposal." He stared at Hiashi and asked, "Do you accept?"

Hiashi thought about it for a minute. It would certainly be easier to manipulate things to his advantage if the Hokage wasn't making things difficult, and the fact that Naruto was friendly with the Daimyo and many other nobles certainly would help increase the power and status of his clan. He was practically drooling over the thought of five hundred thousand Ryo, but he didn't want to appear weak in front of either of them and there was no way he was going to give in to his demands that easy.

"I will consider your offer, and give you an answer within three days."

Naruto didn't even flinch when he heard the response. The conversation had ended up exactly where he thought it would, and right now there was only one option left.

His thoughts turned inward once again. _Okay, Kurama…Here we go._

_*****Sidestep*****_

Back at the reception, Hinata suddenly stopped eating and looked up, scanning the room quickly.

Hanabi noticed the change and asked, "Nee-san, is something wrong? What's the matter?"

"Where is Naruto-kun?"

Hanabi looked around the room and said, "I don't see him right now. Why?"

Hinata extended her hand with the seal. Hanabi held it for a moment, before her eyes became wide.

Hinata nodded and said, "Yes, Imōto. I'm not sure where he is or what's causing it, but right now my husband is _very angry_."

_*****End Sidestep*****_

Naruto slowly started to raise his chakra levels. He needed to make sure the change in his appearance was gradual, so this was going to require a delicate touch. He might be angry at Hiashi right now, but he needed to remain calm and in control.

"Not good enough, Hiashi. I want an answer and I want it now, so I'm giving you one minute to accept. After that, I'll let the kyuubi use you as his personal chew toy."

The color drained from Hiashi's face and he stammered, "Are…Are you threatening me, Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Just like that? You're not even going to lie about it?"

"Nope. I think with you the direct approach would be best, and with your byakugan you'd know I was lying anyways. Besides, things will be _**much**_ easier if you don't accept my offer, because with you out of the picture that means Neji becomes head of the clan and I'm willing to bet that if that happens, the first thing he'll do is tell Lord Isamu to shove that offer up his ass."

Unafraid, Neji looked at Hiashi and nodded in agreement with Naruto.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes and said, "You're bluffing. There's no way you'd follow through on your threat."

"You're wrong. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from marrying Hanabi off to a lecherous old man more than twice her age, and if that means making you disappear then so be it." He closed his eyes, and when he opened them back up they were red with black slits for pupils. "Your minute starts right now."

Hiashi saw the change and knew exactly what it meant. His mind immediately went on the defensive, analyzing the situation and trying to think of any possible way to turn this to his advantage.

Naruto pushed his chakra out so that it covered his body; his teeth became elongated and his whisker marks grew more pronounced. "Fifty seconds left."

_He's testing me_, Hiashi thought. _He thinks I'll just collapse and give up, but I won't flinch so easily. However, there's no denying that his power __**is**__ rising rapidly, and I know for a fact that it's not a henge because I can tell the difference between the two._

Naruto sprouted three tails in rapid succession, making the air heavy and oppressive, and for added effect he let some killing intent leak out. "Thirty five seconds left."

_Neji isn't going to help me, he's said as much. Could I use the Eight Trigrams on him? Probably not; he's protected by the nine-tails chakra and by the feel of the heat he's giving off I'd severely burn my hands and not slow him down one bit. _

Naruto pushed his power up to four tails and the kyuubi cloak formed around him, turning his skin red. The ground began to shake as he doubled his chakra pressure and killing intent and said, _**"TWENTY SECONDS."**_

Hiashi's face finally showed a hint of fear as he began to sweat under Naruto's intense gaze. _That voice I just heard wasn't human. It's the kyuubi, no doubt about it. I shouldn't be here…I should be running, but do I even have that option? Highly unlikely, since we're in the middle of nowhere and he has the advantage of knowing the terrain. I'm also willing to bet he's faster than me based on the amount of power he's pushing out._

Naruto made his final push and suddenly powered up to six tails and pushed his killing intent to the maximum. The resulting shockwave from the increase threw Hiashi and Neji twenty meters away from him, both landing flat on their backs. He immediately pounced on Hiashi, hot drool dripping from between his serrated teeth, ready to strike.

"_**TEN SECONDS."**_

Hiashi was violently shaking from the sight before him and the overwhelming killing intent that Naruto was emitting. There was nothing left that he could do; he was helpless in the face of such power, and there was no room for negotiation. As his life flashed before him, he finally realized there were only two options left…accept the terms of the agreement, or die.

As Naruto's jaws opened wide and reached for his throat, Hiashi finally found his voice and screamed, "STOP, STOP! YOU WIN, I ACCEPT YOUR TERMS! JUST DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE!"

He growled, hovering over Hiashi for a brief moment before turning his head in the direction of Neji and saying, _**"WITNESS."**_

Neji was lying on the ground some distance away, shivering in fear. "What…What did you say?"

"_**WITNESS THE AGREEMENT. I WILL NOT HAVE HIM BREAK HIS WORD."**_

"I…I bear witness to the agreement. Hiashi Hyūga accepts the terms Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze has set forth."

He nodded once in confirmation before slowly backing away, and upon reaching a safe distance he allowed Kurama's chakra to recede into his body.

"Ahh, that's much better. Consider yourself lucky that I stopped the kyuubi when I did, Hiashi. Right now he's very disappointed that I didn't let him eat you."

_**Liar. I'm not disappointed, just relieved.**_

_What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, the threat of me letting you get loose might help with any future negotiations when I'm Hokage._

Naruto motioned for Neji and Hiashi to come close, which they both did with some hesitation.

"Here's what we're going to do. Neji, tonight after the wedding reception is finished you and Hiashi will draw up a formal agreement to allow Hanabi to marry Konohamaru under the terms I've set forth. You will also draw up another document for Lord Isamu saying that you apologize for the delay, but you recently received a better proposal than his and the clan decided to accept that one instead."

"At noon tomorrow, I'll meet you both at the bank at which time I will transfer to the Hyūga account the sum of five hundred thousand Ryo. Once this is done, you will present _**both **_signed documents to me, which in turn will be given to the Hokage. He will approve them both and direct one of the ANBU to deliver Lord Isamu's scroll in person. Is this acceptable?"

Neji nodded and said, "I'll ensure this happens, Naruto. You have my word that everything will be in order."

Naruto smiled and placed his hands on the shoulders of Neji and Hiashi once again, and transported them back to the balcony. He turned and pulled the three-pronged kunai with the Hiraishin seal on it out of the railing.

He gestured between the two men with it and said, "One more thing…this discussion of ours, and the fact that I'm the one who gave you the money is going to remain our little secret. Neither of you will tell anyone about this…_**ever**_. And after we conclude our business tomorrow, you will inform Hanabi that Lord Isamu changed his mind and called the whole thing off, and that she's now free to marry Konohamaru. If anyone asks any questions, you keep it simple and don't give them any details or try to embellish the story. Agreed?"

Hiashi was more than happy to agree to this, since he didn't want the fact that Naruto had bested him to become public knowledge.

"Good. Now wait a few minutes before you both come back in, because I don't want to arouse any suspicions. I'll distract Hinata, and then you can enter."

Naruto walked back into the reception and quickly made his way to the head table, lightly tapping Hinata on the shoulder.

"Hey there, beautiful. Care to dance with the most handsome man in the whole room?"

Startled, she quickly turned and said, "Naruto-kun! Where did you go? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Hinata held up her hand. "I felt you get angry."

"Oh, THAT. I just needed to blow off some steam, that's all. I thought it might be better if I did it away from the wedding so I didn't cause a scene." _Technically it wasn't a lie…_

She cocked her head and asked, "That's all? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. But you still haven't answered my question." His bright blue eyes captured hers as he lovingly stroked her cheek and asked, "Would the most beautiful woman in the world honor her husband with a dance?"

Hinata smiled as her eyes filled with tears. For the second time today, he had said something so wonderful that she was emotional beyond words. Nodding her head, she took his hand while he led her to the dance floor.

He left her there for a brief moment while he went over and whispered something to the band leader, who said "Sure, no problem." Smiling, he walked back and wrapped his arms around her as the band began playing a slow, romantic tune.

All eyes were on them as they began to sway back and forth to the music. Hinata nestled her head deep in Naruto's chest, enjoying the feel of being in his embrace.

Naruto was enjoying the dance as well, when suddenly her grip on his chest tightened. He chuckled and said, "Still think this is all a dream, am I right?"

She looked at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. "How did you know? Was it the seal?"

"No, nothing like that. Just a hunch." He looked deep into her eyes and said, "Is there anything I can do to convince you that this is real?"

Hinata suddenly had a moment of déjà vu, as the memory of her dream returned. She recalled the line she'd used on him and said, "I'm thinking of one way you can. Care to guess what it is?"

"I really don't think I need to. Your wish is my command, hime."

He bent his head down to kiss her, except this time there were no interruptions and she didn't wake up. As their lips met, his essence brushed hers with all of the emotions Lady Tsunade had talked about – warmth, happiness, caring and comfort – and then at the end, somehow she felt…love.

And at that moment, she only had one thought. _Maybe, just maybe…dreams can come true, after all._

They ended their kiss and continued to dance, relishing the sensation of just being in each others arms. However, it seemed that their romantic display of affection hadn't gone unnoticed by their friends, who had now joined them on the dance floor. Without intending to, Naruto and Hinata listened to several conversations going on around them…

*:*:*:*:*

_Sakura: I'm having such a wonderful time, Sasuke. Doesn't this remind you of when we got married? I think our wedding was better, though…_

_Sasuke: Hn? Our wedding? Sure, I guess so._

_Sakura: What kind of an answer is that? Do you even remember our wedding?_

_Sasuke: I suppose. It was on a Saturday, right?_

*:*:*:*:*

_Temari: Naruto has been so romantic today. Are you getting any ideas, Shika-kun? Have you learned something from being here?_

_Shikamaru: Yes, Mari-chan. I've learned that weddings are expensive and most troublesome…_

*:*:*:*:*

_Kiba: Wow, Naruto is certainly pulling out all the stops today. Who knew he had it in him?_

_Mina: Hinata is a very lucky woman to have found herself someone like him. In many ways he reminds me of you, Kiba-kun._

_Kiba: You keep talking like that, and one of these days I might have to make an honest woman out of you._

*:*:*:*:*

_Tenten: Neji, you suddenly seem very happy about something because you're smiling, and I don't see that look on your face very often. What's got you in such a good mood?_

_Neji: Nothing, really. I'm just glad that Hinata and Naruto have found each other. And now that she and Hikaru are leaving the compound, I was thinking of finding a little place of our own like we discussed and finally starting a family._

_Tenten: Really? You mean it?_

_Neji: Absolutely. I can think of nothing that would make me happier, Tenten. Six children would be a good number to start with, don't you think?_

*:*:*:*:*

_Arekusu: Lee-kun! That's the third time you've stepped on my feet!_

_Lee: I'm sorry that I hurt you, Arekusu. I am not a splendid dancer, and my flames of youth are not burning brightly right now. I must do ten thousand pushups to make it up to you! Yosh!_

_Arekusu: No, you don't have to do that. I'm fine; just let __**me**__ lead for awhile. Okay?_

*:*:*:*:*

_Hanabi: We shouldn't be dancing together like this, Konohamaru-kun. _

_Konohamaru: Why not, Hanabi-chan?_

_Hanabi: Because as of tomorrow I'll be engaged to be married. And it's hard enough as it is, being so close to you and knowing this all has to end…_

_Konohamaru: Shh, I know. It's hard for me too. But right now, in this moment let's just enjoy what we have. And remember that no matter what happens, I'll be there for you if you need me. _

_Hanabi: Thank you, Konohamaru-kun. You…You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that. _

_Konohamaru: Never forget that I love you, Hanabi-chan. More than anything in this world. _

_Hanabi: And I love you too, Konohamaru-kun. Always. _

*:*:*:*:*

The music ended and everyone returned to their seats to finish their meals. Naruto had six bowls of miso ramen left to eat, and even though they'd been sitting for at least forty minutes he finished them off quickly. Hot or cold, to him there was nothing in the world better than Ichiraku ramen.

The rest of dinner passed without incident; Naruto decided to pass the time with Hinata by leading her around the room and introducing her to some of the people that hadn't visited them at the head table yet.

"Hinata, I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Raikage A and his brother Killer B, who's the jinchuuriki for the Hachibi. Right next to him are his three best students, Samui, Karui and Omoi. Over there is Gramps Oonoki, the Tsuchikage along with his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. And of course you remember Kazekage Gaara, and I'm assuming this is his fiancée Matsuri."

"Girlfriend, Naruto. Matsuri is my girlfriend."

"Sorry, Gaara. I just assumed Matsuri was your fiancée because of the fact that she's pregnant."

Matsuri did a spit take with the water she was drinking, spraying it all over the table. Coughing and sputtering, she looked at Naruto and asked, "Pregnant? What...What makes you think I'm pregnant?"

Confused, Naruto looked at Matsuri and said, "You didn't know about it?"

Eyes wide, she looked back at him and shook her head.

"Well, over the last several years I've gotten pretty good at noticing these types of physical changes in people. I'm guessing you're about two or three weeks along."

Matsuri just stared at him in disbelief. "You're positive about this?"

"There's a chance I could be wrong, of course. But if you really want to be sure I'd ask Baa-chan to do a quick check." Naruto pointed to a table near the bar where Tsunade was sitting and said, "She's right over there. But I'd talk to her now, before she gets too drunk."

After a moment, her look changed from stunned to dangerous. She turned to Gaara and said, "**DON'T…GO…ANYWHERE**." And she walked to the far side of the room to talk with Tsunade.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and said, "Naruto, it never ceases to amaze me that no matter how old we get, you somehow manage to cause trouble wherever you go."

Naruto looked at Gaara, before shifting his gaze to the table where Tsunade was sitting as they watched her glowing hands move around Matsuri's abdomen. After a moment, she stopped and nodded at her, smiling.

Naruto turned and said, "Umm, I think that's my cue to leave Gaara. You guys should probably talk, and Hinata and I still need to cut and serve the cake."

He grabbed Hinata's hand and quickly led her across the room, not looking back but rather sensing the approaching storm otherwise known as 'Hurricane Matsuri'.

Hinata asked, "Naruto-kun, don't you think that it might have been better to tell them such important news in a more private setting?"

"I really had no idea they didn't know, Hinata. But I'm sure things will be fine once they talk about it. I mean, it was going to come out eventually so why not at a happy occasion like this?"

Hinata thought his answer sounded unconcerned, because she didn't hear him say he was sorry about his actions. The news should have been delivered far more delicately and she wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but she would have to find another way to let him know because this wasn't the time or place to have such a discussion.

They walked up to the cake and paused for a moment to admire it. Naruto had asked for a peony-embellished four tier wedding cake for the ceremony. The cake itself was vanilla flavor, with a layer of meringue running through the middle of each tier. The icing was buttercream and it was adorned with several different shades of purple peonies made from fondant and additional petals for accents, which matched the colors on their wedding invitations. It was a stunning sight to behold, and the chef they had chosen to make it had certainly outdone himself.

"Naruto-kun, I've been meaning to ask you about the cake. I've never heard of such a thing at a wedding, and yet it seemed very important to you. Why?"

"Well, during my travels in the west I attended a few weddings, and they have a tradition of serving cake at the reception. It's supposed to bring good fortune to the bride and groom, and the act of cutting the cake and serving it to your guests is meant to share that good fortune with everyone present."

Hinata smiled at this; the idea of sharing even a small part of her happiness with their guests was a very thoughtful gesture. "So, do we just cut the cake, or…"

"No, first we hold the knife together and cut the first two pieces of cake out. Then, we each hold one and feed it to the other person as a symbol of trust and unity and after that, someone will cut up the rest of the cake and feed it to our guests."

They both held the knife and carefully cut out two pieces of cake. Naruto took his piece and turned to feed it to Hinata, but was stopped cold when he saw the fiendish grin spread across her face.

"Hinata, what…"

That was as far as he got before she smashed the cake into his face, covering it with frosting and even getting some up his nose. The crowd erupted into laughter as Naruto fell back a few steps, desperately trying to clear his eyes so that he could see.

He scraped away the last bit of cake and grabbed another piece before looking around the room and asking, "Where are you, Hinata? What did you do that for?"

From the far side of the room, her voice carried over the continued laughter of the crowd as she answered, "You got what you deserved for being an insensitive jerk to Gaara and Matsuri!"

Naruto was stunned that his sweet little Hinata would do something do devious, and in a public setting no less. Maybe she was finally becoming more bold and assertive, rather than the shy and timid person everyone knew. He actually found it…exciting, and kind of sexy.

An evil grin spread across his face as he said, "Well, since I've gotten MY piece of cake I think you deserve yours. Come over here so I can feed it to you, Hinata."

"Forget it, Naruto-kun! I'm not falling for that trap, and there's no way you'll catch me! There are six hundred people between us, and I have plenty of time to run if…"

The wedding guests were stunned as Naruto suddenly disappeared, and then half a second later they all heard a loud "EEP!" Turning around, they saw Naruto laughing as he smashed his piece of cake into Hinata's face.

It was Hinata's turn to fall back a few steps as she tried to wipe the frosting from her eyes. She looked at Naruto and asked, "How…How did you get over here so fast?"

His face still mostly covered in cake, he smirked and pointed at the ring on her hand. "Hiraishin seal, remember? I can transport to wherever you are instantly."

"You got cake all over my face, Naruto-kun! You ruined my makeup!"

His hands reached up and gently grabbed the sides of her face. He looked deep into her eyes and said, "You don't need makeup. You're more beautiful without it."

As their lips met, once again Hinata was amazed at what the seal did to her emotions. When Naruto had kissed her before, her lips would tingle and her heart would swell with joy. Now however, because the seal shared and amplified the feelings between them, those same emotions became a tidal wave that washed over her mind as well as her heart. It lifted her spirits and self-confidence not only hearing the truth behind his words, but feeling them as well.

The applause and whistles of encouragement died down as they broke the kiss. Naruto smiled and scraped some frosting off her cheek with his finger before tasting it and saying, "Wow, that's good. The chef did an excellent job; we'll have to send him a gift to say thank you for all of his hard work."

Hinata smiled, then handed him a napkin and said, "I'm going to go wash my face. Why don't you clean up as well, and then go and apologize to Gaara and Matsuri. You know that you should have told them such important news in private, rather than in front of everyone."

"Sure. We only have about an hour left here, and there are a few more people I have to talk to before we leave for tonight."

Hinata nodded and walked away, blushing as she did so. She was suddenly very aware that her night was far from over, and the thought of her honeymoon night made her very nervous.

As Naruto wiped his face clean and made his way through the crowd, he noticed Kakashi and Tsunade standing near the exit. He had wanted to talk with both of them before he left tonight anyway, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so.

"Hello Baa-chan, Kakashi-sensei. You guys enjoying the party?"

Tsunade smiled at him and said, "Very much so, gaki. The booze here is top shelf, and who knew Hinata had a sense of humor? Smashing the cake in your face was absolutely priceless!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and said, "Gee, thanks Baa-chan. Glad to know that you're laughing at my expense. I'm really touched. However, that wasn't the reason why I came over here." He paused and took a deep breath before saying in a very serious tone, "I need a favor from you both."

Kakashi said, "Umm, sure Naruto. What can we do for you?"

"Please clear your schedule tomorrow afternoon, Kakashi-sensei. I need to see you, Baa-chan and Inoichi at your office at two o'clock and make sure that you're all well rested."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and said, "That's a very strange request, Naruto. Care to elaborate as to why you need a meeting with the three of us?"

"I promise I'll answer your questions tomorrow, Baa-chan. But right now all I'm asking is that you trust me and set the meeting up. Can you do that for me?"

Kakashi and Tsunade passed a look between them before turning back to Naruto. Kakashi looked at him and said, "We'll honor your request, but we're going to need an explanation from you before we go any further."

"Understood, and you have my word that you'll get one." He smiled and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go apologize to Gaara and Matsuri. My lovely wife informed me that I was sorely lacking in manners when I disclosed some news to them earlier."

As Naruto walked off, Kakashi looked at Tsunade and asked, "What news?"

Tsunade smirked and said, "Oh, nothing much. Just that Matsuri is pregnant."

Just as Matsuri did, Kakashi did a spit take and sprayed sake everywhere. As Tsunade watched him cough loudly in an attempt to clear his throat, two thoughts immediately came to mind…

_That's the same reaction everyone else had when I told them. And how the hell did he do a spit take with that mask on?_

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A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this out to the masses…I did have about two thirds of this written when I released the last chapter, but I added some content based on the reviews I received. The worst part is that I hit a SERIOUS case of writer's block when this happened, and for those of you who don't write let me tell you it's a horrible feeling…you have all these ideas that you want to put into the story, you know where things are going and then…you got nothing. I struggled with making this chapter work and I hopefully everyone likes the result.

_**Recommendation time!**_ Okay, I didn't have a recommendation for last chapter but I thought I'd throw out one for MattWilson83 and his epic graphic novel (still in progress, by the way) NaruHina Chronicles. This isn't a FanFiction story – even though he does write stories for the site – but rather his personal artwork over on DeviantArt. Right now the work is at almost 3,000 pages so if you're having NaruHina withdrawal symptoms, this thing is the perfect cure. Here is the link if you want to check out his work, remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:

mattwilson83 . Deviantart . *** / gallery / 2433230

So…next chapter will be the big LEMON that everyone has been asking for! And it will be revealed as to what's going on between Kurama and Naruto. Chapter after that will probably have the last bit of stuff from Nube in it, then we move forward with the plot and my all new stuff. So many plotlines, so little time!

So leave those reviews! They help! I want them and love them! They help me write so let's see them!

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	9. When Life Gives You Lemons

_Do you want it? Do you need it? Let me hear it! Ladies and Gentlemen, Chapter 9 is finally here!_

Okay, standard thanks once again to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt this story, as well as to my anonymous beta for his help and support.

We finally made it…**this chapter contains the lemon scene everyone has been asking for, and I'm warning everyone about it now**. I've marked the beginning and end in case this is not your thing, as well as adding extra space before and after so you don't accidentally see something you don't want to see. You can skip over it if you like and still get any plot developments for the story.

I would also like to say that this is the very first lemon scene I've ever done, and for those of you that think writing smut is easy, think again – unless you want the entire thing to read like the script of a porn movie, it's very hard to make something both erotic and romantic at the same time. I now understand why it took over a month for KingKakashi to release the latest chapter of his **_Aftermath_** story due to the lemon scene he wrote – which he knocked out the park with how good it was – so please be kind when you leave your reviews.

As always, I love the reviews, and I appreciate when people take the time to leave one for me. As we're now getting into my original work, I really need everyone's help in making sure the story is great going forward and the reviews are the best way to make that happen. I'd like to hit 325 reviews after this chapter, and with the amount of people following me it should be a piece of cake. So take some time and post one!

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, and I think I'll wear some cologne for the big lemon scene coming in this chapter.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Which one are you gonna go with? London Gentleman, or Blackbeard's Delight?**_

_**Disclaimer – No, I'm going with a special one. It's called Sex Panther by Odeon. It's got real bits of panther in it so you know it's good.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Wow, that's a formidable scent. It stings the nostrils, but in a good way.**_

_**Disclaimer – They've done studies on it, you know. They say sixty percent of the time, it works every time. **_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – That doesn't make any sense. (+1 if you get the reference.)**_

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Chapter 9 – When life gives you lemons…

The door to the hotel room opened, and two clones of Naruto entered the room and stood on either side of the doorway. Each carried a single piece of luggage, and they set the bags down before performing a flourishing bow as the real Naruto entered the hotel room, carrying Hinata in his arms.

Naruto turned around to look at the clones and said, "Okay, guys…Thanks for the help but I can take it from here."

The clones straightened before exchanging a disappointed glance and saying, "Aww…can't we stay for a bit and watch the festivities? You won't even know we're here, honest!"

"**NO**. Now get lost."

They both looked at him and pouted. "You're no fun at all." Then they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Hinata looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Care to explain that?"

Naruto looked sheepishly at Hinata before setting her down. "Sorry about that. Even though they obey my orders, kage bunshin tend to have a mind of their own. They can be very frustrating to deal with sometimes, especially when I'm distracted."

"Oh." She looked around the hotel room. Even though Naruto had been staying here almost three weeks, she'd never been here before and if she hadn't known it was a hotel room, she would have sworn it was someone's apartment due to the size of it.

She blushed a bit and asked, "Naruto-kun, is there someplace I can wash up and…umm, change?"

"What? Oh, sure. You can use the bathroom at the end of the hall, and I'll use the one off of the main bedroom, which is the last door on the left."

"Thank you." She grabbed her bag and hurried down the hall, quickly shutting the door behind her and locking it. Closing her eyes and leaning her head against the door, she fought to get her rapidly beating heart under control.

_No more distractions,_ she thought to herself. _No more wondering what it was like to wake up in his arms. This is fantasy become reality. This is real. If I want, Naruto-kun and I will become one tonight._

And she wanted it, more than anything. Without words, tonight she would let him know that she loved him. She would make his time with Sakura a distant memory.

Hinata undressed, taking great care to fold and put away her wedding kimono. Turning on the shower, she stood underneath the hot water for several minutes, letting it run over her body in the hopes that it would wash away her stress and calm her nerves. It seemed to help a little bit, however it couldn't completely disperse her anxiety about tonight because her mind was lost in thought about what was going to happen.

After several minutes she realized that she couldn't stay in the shower forever. The hotel had thoughtfully provided scented body gel and bath oils for her to use, and she used them to wash her body, taking great care to make sure every inch, every curve was pristine. Her fondest dream was coming true tonight, and everything needed to be perfect.

_It __**should**__ be perfect, _she thought to herself. _**I**__ need to be perfect. For Naruto-kun._

She turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the rack, thoroughly drying her body off. She made sure to brush and dry her hair as well, before once again pinning it back with the combs Naruto had bought for her.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her bag and removed the lingerie Sakura told her to wear tonight. Holding it in front of her body, she looked at herself in the mirror as her thoughts went back to their conversation a few days ago…

_*****Flashback*****_

"_Now remember, you need to keep him waiting in anticipation because it will make his desire for you that much greater when you walk in the room. But don't wait too long, or he'll think something's wrong and you'll ruin the mood."_

"_But how…how long should I make him wait? How will I know?"_

_Sakura smiled and said, "Trust me; you have this instinct just like every woman does. You'll know when the time is right. Now, this is the outfit you're going to wear on your honeymoon."_

_She handed Hinata a knee length white lace nightgown with a tie front, along with a matching pair of high-cut lace panties. Both pieces were very sheer, leaving little to the imagination. _

_Hinata asked, "Are you sure about this?"_

"_Absolutely. You wear this, and he won't be able to resist you. Besides that, the white color will be a subtle hint at what you represent to him, which is someone who is innocent and chaste."_

_Hinata looked doubtful as she asked, "Even though I'm Hikaru's mother?"_

_"That won't matter to him at all. He sees you as the embodiment of all that is good and pure, and you need to take advantage of that. Once he gets a look at you in this, nothing else in the world will matter to him but you. I guarantee it."_

_*****End Flashback*****_

Sighing, Hinata slipped her panties on and let the nightgown fall over her otherwise naked body, tying it shut with a bow between her breasts. She opened the bathroom, intent on entering the main bedroom when she noticed another door farther down the hallway had been left open. Curious, she approached it and looked inside.

She quickly realized that it was a second bedroom in the hotel room. The light had been turned on, and the covers on the bed had been folded back. There was no need to wonder who was responsible, because Naruto was the only person who could have done it.

It appeared that he was offering her the opportunity to change her mind about having a normal marriage, if she wished. It was actually rather sweet that he was trying to take her feelings into account, and wasn't forcing her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with. But despite her nervousness, her resolve was firm and there was nothing that would distract her from what this night would bring.

She turned around and walked back to the main bedroom, her hand pausing only a brief second before she turned the knob to open the door, not bothering to knock.

There was no need. He would know it was her because of the bond they shared.

She noticed him immediately, standing in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out over the streets of Konoha. The moonlight shone through the glass, and she paused for a moment to admire his powerful figure. He was wearing a very tight dark blue t-shirt and pants, and she could see every well-defined muscle as it rippled beneath the fabric.

She closed the door and turned back to him. Only half of the room and part of the bed were illuminated, and she walked forward out of the darkness and stepped into the light. As she did so, he turned around to look at her, his eyes immediately changing color to a deep cobalt blue.

His gaze instantly drank in every curve of her body, every nuance of how she moved. He noticed her hair had been pinned back with the combs that he'd bought for her, exposing the nape of her neck and he had to fight the urge to press his lips there and taste her deliciousness. The length of her hair continued down around her shoulders and fell to the middle of her back, while her panties enhanced the beauty of her long and perfectly toned legs. Her flawless pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, which intensified his desire for her as a lump formed in his throat and he swallowed hard.

After a few moments, Hinata couldn't take the silence anymore and timidly asked, "Do you like it?"

Naruto nodded slowly and in a deep, husky voice said, "Yes. Very much."

Her eyes locked onto his as she slowly and deliberately walked towards him. Her hands came up and she attempted to pull at the bow she had tied in the front of her nightgown, fully intent on offering herself to him but they were shaking so much from nervousness that she couldn't complete the act.

Naruto noticed this and quickly stepped forward, capturing her hands in his. "Hinata-hime, are you okay? Why are you shaking?"

As she looked at him, her eyes became moist and he could tell she was on the verge of tears. She bit her lower lip and answered, "Because this…this night is supposed to be special. I want it to be perfect for you, and I'm worried that I'll do something stupid and ruin it. I know it's going to happen, I just know it…"

He raised his eyebrows upon hearing her confession, and he could honestly say that he was neither surprised nor shocked. Despite the progress she'd made recently, in some ways she was still the shy and scared girl he remembered from their childhood days.

His right hand came up and lovingly cupped her cheek. "Hinata, please listen to me. This night is already special because you're here with me, and right now I can't think of anything I've ever seen in my entire life that's more beautiful than you. I'm honored that you've chosen not only share this night with me, but the rest of your life as well."

Hinata nuzzled her cheek into his hand and whispered, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

He used his thumb to stroke away some tears that had fallen on her cheek. Smiling, he looked at her and said, "Don't be nervous. We'll make this night special together. I promise."

_*****Danger, Will Robinson! Lemon Scene Ahead!*****_

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Naruto placed his hands lovingly on either side of her face, and slowly lowered his lips to brush against hers. He kissed her lightly, wanting her to feel as if a butterfly were dancing across her lips as he continued to touch them with his own. This was their first night together and he wanted to savor the experience, memorizing every part of her body in vivid detail.

Hinata stood with her eyes closed as Naruto continued to softly kiss her. As gentle as the wind, his lips worked their magic over hers, making them tingle every moment that they touched. He was so loving, so delicate with each stroke of his lips, and all she knew was that she wanted more. As she raised her arms to wrap them around his neck, he gently grabbed her wrists and stopped them from moving.

This action caught Hinata by surprise, and she opened her eyes to see Naruto staring at her.

"No."

She couldn't tear herself away from his powerful gaze as she said, "What?"

"Don't move, Hinata-hime. Just enjoy the pleasure I'm giving you and allow me to be in charge for a bit."

The hunger in his eyes made her tremble, and all she could think about was how sexy his voice sounded at that moment. She swallowed hard and nodded her head yes, wondering how long she would be able to stay still under his constant attention.

He smiled and dipped his head to hers once again, but this time instead of gently kissing her, his tongue came out and lightly traced the outline of her lips. He made sure to do it slowly, so that he could feel and taste every luscious part. As he continued, her mouth opened slightly and gasped in pleasure and he took advantage of the opportunity, lightly swiping her lips and inviting her tongue to come forth.

She quickly did so; however Naruto didn't immediately latch their lips together, but instead kept them from touching as his tongue danced with hers. As they continued to taste one another, his hands came up and resumed their place on either side of her face. However, this time they began to move, his touch light as a feather as he traced a path along her jaw and down her neck, fascinated with how soft her skin was and relishing the feel of every inch that the nightgown wasn't covering up.

For her part, Hinata was struggling to stay still as her body screamed for release beneath his hands. His touch was frustrating; she knew that he was driving her mad with desire and teasing her on purpose, but was unable to act because of her promise to him and the fact that her mouth was otherwise occupied.

Naruto continued to caress her body with his fingertips, as they now abandoned her bare skin and continued down the side of her body before stopping at her hips. His hands came around to meet again in the front and he ran them upwards, knowing she was aware of where they were headed and feeling the muscles of her stomach quiver in anticipation. As he reached her breasts, he turned his hands over and stroked her nipples with the backs of his fingers, causing them to immediately become hard.

Soft exclamations of pleasure and excitement came from Hinata, as she relished the sensations Naruto was creating within her as every touch of his hand, every stroke of his fingers sent shivers down her spine. She could feel the heat of his passion magnified by the seal, her mind in overdrive from the sensual thrill of his fingernails as they stimulated every nerve beneath her skin.

His fingertips returned to tracing a path along the outside curve of her breasts before meeting in the center and traveling down her cleavage to the bow that held her nightgown closed. Gently pulling it apart, he let it hang open as his hands returned to her neck and traveled downward, brushing her shoulders and letting the garment fall to the floor.

At this point, he pulled away from her and took a step back to admire her body. Holding her hands, he raised her arms out to her sides while his eyes took in the view before him. He stared at her, taking in every inch of what he saw, smiling as he did so.

Hinata squirmed under his intense gaze and tried to hide herself from him, but his grip on her hands prevented it. Blushing, she looked at him and said, "Naruto-kun, please don't stare at me."

"I'm sorry, Hinata-hime. You're just so beautiful I can't help myself."

She blushed even more, before he dropped her right hand and led her over to the window, stopping her in front of the glass. He reached up and pulled the combs out, sliding his hands through her indigo colored hair; fascinated by the way it glowed in the moonlight. He combed his fingers through it, taking his time to feel every strand before easing her bare back onto the glass, causing her to jump slightly.

"Naruto! What are you doing? That's cold!"

He grinned at her and said, "I know. That's the idea." He took her hands and placed the palms against the window. Pressing his body against hers, he breathed softly into her ear…

"Now, no matter what happens…don't take your hands off the glass." He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes and said, "Can you do that for me?"

Once again, she nodded her head yes. There was little she could do; she was far too nervous at this point to even think of taking control. Anticipation ran through her heart; everything Naruto was doing was like the fantasies she'd had about him when they were younger, only this time they were real.

He came forward, but this time rather than having his lips gently brush hers he kissed her passionately, licking her lips once again to demand entrance to her mouth. She opened it willingly, her lips soft yet providing the perfect amount of resistance as her tongue once again danced with his, fighting for dominance.

He slowly slid his hands up along her sides, coming around to her ribcage before cupping her breasts, squeezing them gently and making Hinata moan lustfully into his mouth. After a few moments, Naruto broke away from her lips and began to place small kisses along the edge of her jaw, slowly moving down to the nape of her neck. Her lips remained parted as he nibbled and sucked his way to the hollow between her neck and shoulder before planting his lips and twirling his tongue on the spot.

The sensation sent a new wave of shivers down her spine. The heat in her core was rising rapidly, and it was fighting against the cold of the window against her back. It was like she was freezing and sweating at the same time, and her body was quivering in response to the feeling. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she arched her chest towards him in pleasure as she moaned, "Naru-kun, that feels so good..."

So lost in pleasure was Hinata, that she didn't feel Naruto's right hand move along her thigh and turn inward as he found the valley between her legs and began to stroke her swollen lips through her panties. She inhaled sharply and pushed her hips forward as his middle finger went up and down her full length several times, before settling on her clitoris and rubbing it with a gentle force in a circular pattern.

Hinata's body shivered under his efforts, wanting to reach up and fist his hair yet trying desperately to keep her hands on the glass per his instructions. Her body was covered in a light sheen of perspiration, and she was growing dizzy with arousal as his fingers worked their magic on her nether region. She let out an uncontrollable gasp as she bucked her hips against him and cried out, "Oh Kami, Naru-kun…Don't stop! Don't you dare stop!"

He began to move faster, pressing her clitoris harder through the sheer fabric of her panties and sending new shockwaves throughout her body. He left the nape of her neck and pressed his lips even harder against hers, shoving his tongue back into her mouth to smother her overpowering admission of need, as he felt her quickly reaching the apex of pleasure.

Her orgasm consumed her as she climaxed, her scream of ecstasy held back by his mouth as she seized up underneath him while her juices soaked through her panties. She continued to moan as he slowly stopped fingering her clitoris and moved his hands upwards on either side of her waist until they rested beneath her arms.

His lips left hers and proceeded once again to nibble and kiss a path along her jaw and down the front of her neck. Hinata was panting heavily, her eyes still closed as she enjoyed the afterglow of the orgasm that Naruto had just given her. However, her pleasure quickly turned to anxiety as she realized that his kisses hadn't stopped at her neck but continued south, settling on her left breast. He licked his way around her areola enticingly before sucking her erect nipple into his mouth and flicking it lightly with his tongue.

A spike of pleasure shot through her, and it was all she could do not to move and press his head harder against her chest. He moaned, and the vibrations from that action sent another round of shivers through her body as she quietly begged, "Naru-kun, please…please let me move."

"Shhh, not just yet Hinata-hime. Very soon though, I promise."

His mouth moved to her right breast, giving it the same attention as her left before returning to the valley between them. His hands continued to travel down her sides before interlacing his fingers around the top of her lace panties. As he continued to kiss a path down her stomach, his hands pushed her panties down her legs and to the floor, exposing her most intimate of areas for him to finally see. A small triangle of hair graced the top, and he noticed her outer folds were just as perfect as the rest of her body.

Just as Hinata was about to say something, Naruto clamped his lips down and shoved his tongue deep inside her. She inhaled sharply as he did so; the action sending a shockwave through her core and she thrust her hips at him, her body screaming for attention as she trembled and squirmed beneath his technique. Her head began to thrash about as she felt herself begin to reach another climax, the cold from the window the only constant as she strained to keep her hands in place. On impulse, she lifted her leg and hooked it around his neck, pressing his face against her and driving his tongue deeper into her body.

The action was apparently the right one, as Naruto moaned into her folds and doubled his efforts, pushing her to the brink. Her breathing quickly became more rapid, and feeling that she was ready to hit her apex once again she screamed, "OH MY KAMI, NARU-KUN! I'M CUMMING, I'M CUMMING!"

Her second orgasm of the night hit her like a ton of bricks and Naruto licked her clean, making her jump every time his tongue flicked her clitoris. Every part of her body not leaning against the cold window was sweating as her eyes rolled back in her head, eyelids slightly open as she panted heavily from exertion and passion, her legs weak and threatening to give out from under her.

Smiling, Naruto stood back up and brought his lips close to her ear and whispered, "I hope you enjoyed that, my hime. You can move now, if you like."

Still dizzy from her last orgasm, the words Naruto spoke seemed to bring her back to reality. Her eyes snapped open, looking at him with undisguised hunger as a growl escaped from her throat and she shoved him backwards onto the bed. Leaving him no time to be shocked or surprised she pounced on him, her hands shredding his shirt before moving to his pants and ripping them off.

Now that he was naked as well, she paused for a moment to drink in the sight of his naked body and look at his arousal. She was ashamed to admit it, but there were a few times – well, more than a few actually – when she had used her byakugan to 'peek' at Naruto when they were teenagers. She had been impressed with what she had seen then, but it was nothing compared to what she saw _**now.**_

To say that he was 'gifted' would be an understatement. Not that she had seen very many, but in her opinion Naruto was quite large and the size of it both excited and frightened her. She wondered if his member would even fit inside of her but then she thought, _If his tongue practically drove me insane, how good will this feel?_

She hovered over him for a second before her lips crashed down onto his, practically raping his mouth with her own. Her tongue moved at a frenzied pace with his, as she ran her hands along his bare chest before sliding them down to trace his rippling abdominal muscles. Feeling bold, her right hand continued down his stomach and grasped his length, stroking it firmly yet delicately and making him moan in delight.

Not ready to cede control of the situation just yet, Naruto grabbed her waist and rolled over, pinning her underneath him. Surprisingly, Hinata never relinquished her grip on his manhood and continued to stroke it, her hand steadily moving faster. He broke the kiss and began to nibble on her earlobe as he breathed in her ear, "Oh, Hinata…"

She couldn't stand it anymore. Every emotion he had brought out in her tonight – pleasure, passion, desire – were mixing together with his and she felt like was drowning in an ocean of lust. Struggling to contain her excitement and craving release, she let go of his arousal and wrapped her arms around his neck before saying in a breathless voice, "Naruto-kun, take me…Take me right now!"

Lost in the same sea of lust that Hinata was, his only thought was to immediately comply with her request. Positioning himself at her entrance, he rubbed against her folds in order to lubricate himself properly for when he entered her.

Acting on instinct alone, Hinata raised her legs and tightened them around his waist. Taking it as a sign to continue, Naruto groaned and thrust into her in one swift motion, letting out a hiss as he did so.

He suddenly felt her tense underneath him and dig her nails into his back. Looking down at her, he noticed her eyes were squeezed shut and a flicker of pain had crossed her face. He cursed at himself, thinking it was her first time until he remembered that even though she had given birth to Hikaru, she hadn't had sex with anyone since then. Despite the fact that she wasn't a virgin, it probably felt the same to her and he was ashamed that he had forgotten and hurt her in the process.

He looked at her with concern in his eyes and asked, "Hinata, are you alright?"

Her eyes remained closed as she pressed her lips together and nodded. She didn't want to look at him, worried that she had ruined the moment.

His right hand came up and brushed her hair away from her face as he said, "Hinata, please open your eyes and look at me."

She complied with his request, afraid of what she might see. To her surprise, he wasn't angry in the slightest and his face only showed tenderness and concern for her.

"Hinata, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you; I just couldn't stop myself…"

She cut him off and said, "Shh. I know you didn't mean to. Just…give me a minute, okay?"

He nodded, waiting patiently for the look of pain on her face to vanish. When he saw that she wasn't wincing anymore, he took that as a sign to continue and moved inside her once again. This time, he saw her face twinge for a moment before it quickly went away, giving him the approval and confidence to go faster.

Hinata felt her heart beating fast, and as the pain receded every sensation seemed to get better. Her nether region was the origin of it all; delivering pleasure throughout the nerves to every area of her body as she made no attempt to conceal the steady stream of whimpers and moans that escaped her mouth. Her brain was on overload, having difficulty processing the amount of stimulation it was receiving as Naruto plunged into her over and over again, seemingly without mercy.

Her opening was stretched so tightly that Hinata felt her body quiver around his immense shaft, tormented by numerous tremors that seemed similar to the orgasms she had earlier, yet smaller in nature. She was lost in the exhilarating feeling of his length as it drove into her, filling her absolutely and forcing her pleasure higher, growing like a living thing as it threatened to overwhelm them both. She gasped as he quickened his pace, slamming into her harder and harder, her muscles trembling in response as he pushed himself deeper into her.

The added intensity was immensely powerful, as the need to be closer and lose themselves in each other grew. She moaned loudly, her eyes closing as Naruto continued to thrust into her, driving her closer to release. Suddenly, her back arched as every corner of her body seemed to explode with sexual energy. Her inner walls tightened around him and she threw her head back, eyes wide as she hit her third orgasm of the night and she screamed in ecstasy, "NARU-KUN! I'M…I'M CUMMING AGAIN! GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! MAKE ME YOURS FOREVER!"

Naruto growled as her whole body began to twitch and shudder underneath him, ravaged by the force of her climax as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. He continued to rapidly thrust into her in an attempt to prolong her orgasm, the sensations never seeming to end as her nails raked his back, drawing blood before the wounds quickly healed.

Her body was rocked by the strength of his thrusts but she didn't complain, instead savoring every bit of what he was giving her. He didn't stop his assault, working in circular motions with his hips as he bumped and rubbed inside her, hitting the most sensitive spots and sending constant jolts of pleasure up her spine and throughout her body.

Naruto hunched over her, still foolishly thinking that he could hold back his release but knowing that he was already past the point of no return. A few moments later he joined her, throwing back his head and shouting, "OH KAMI, HINATA! I'M CUMMING TOO!" And he slammed into her one last time before pressing his body over hers, emptying his seed while Hinata went wild beneath him, clamping down on him almost painfully and milking him for all he was worth.

After their mutual orgasms had waned, their bodies twitched for a few moments as they both spent what little energy they had left before finally growing still. Without thought, Naruto kissed the nape of her neck intimately before he slid out of her and rolled over onto his back, his heart pounding in his chest as he attempted to gather his second wind.

.

.

.

.

.

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_*****You're Safe Now, Will Robinson. Lemon Scene Ends!*****_

Her body weak and glistening with sweat, Hinata continued to breathe heavily, lost in the afterglow of what she had just experienced. Dizzy and disoriented, she dragged her body across Naruto and rested her head against his chest as a profound feeling of tiredness came over her.

The two of them lay together for a few minutes; Hinata making soft sounds of contentment as Naruto caressed her back and side lovingly. Just as she was about to slip into an exhausted slumber, his hand suddenly stopped and he said, "_Hinata._"

Hearing the hunger in his voice, her eyes snapped open and she slowly lifted her head to look at him. He was looking back at her, a lecherous grin spread across his face.

"I hope you're not going to sleep. Because we're not even close to being finished yet."

.

* * *

.

Morning came in Konoha, the sun rising in the east as the village prepared to meet the day. Shopkeepers opened their doors for customers and vendors displayed their goods in the marketplace, both hawking their wares for the crowds of people that started to gather in the streets.

However, in a hotel across town a newly married couple continued to sleep, oblivious to the world around them. Despite their efforts, the curtains in the hotel couldn't keep the light from leaking into the room and illuminating the faces of everyone there.

And where there should have been only two people present, instead there were three.

Steel gray eyes studied the couple in bed, as he remembered the events of the previous day. He had never seen his mother look so beautiful, and even though she was nervous – and somewhat speechless – at various points of the ceremony, he couldn't help but notice the look on her face when Naruto had picked him up for a group hug. Up until that point, he had felt a twinge of jealousy because he now had to share his mother's affections with someone else, but after that one action he realized that it didn't matter to him anymore. Naruto had promised to protect and care for them both always, and Hikaru knew that he never went back on his word no matter what.

Right now, his mother was lying in the bed with Naruto curled up against her, his head resting on her shoulder. The covers had been pulled up; hiding everything below her chest and his neck, and both of them wore a look of contentment on their faces.

Hikaru couldn't remember the last time he had seen his mother this happy, and it was apparent that Naruto was the one responsible for it, although he had no idea how he'd done it. Maybe later he could ask Naruto to repeat whatever it was he did because he wanted his mother to be happy all the time…

His line of thought was broken as Hinata sighed, turning her head towards him and wearily opening her eyes.

"Good morning, mom."

Still half asleep, Hinata smiled and said, "Good morning, sweetie."

Suddenly realizing where she was and who she was with, she quickly pulled the covers of the bed up to her neck, hiding Naruto's head. Fighting the urge to wake up and be part of a conversation he had no interest in, the blond slid further down her body before finally settling underneath her chest, his arm squeezing her waist tightly.

"Hikaru!" she hissed quietly at him, somewhat upset. "What are you doing here?"

The boy looked at the ground, thinking he probably shouldn't be here right now. His hands were in his pockets as he said, "I…I wanted to see you and make sure you were okay."

She looked at him curiously and asked, "Why wouldn't I be okay? And what about your classes at the academy?"

He raised his head to look at his mother again and said, "Well, I was on my way there when I heard some people in the village saying very bad things."

"Exactly what did they say?"

"Something about a demon, and that maybe you'd be gone. Or that there would be very little of you left to find."

Hinata was angry, and somewhat annoyed. It seemed that no matter how much Naruto did for the village, there would still be people who would hate him from the shadows. Her look became hard as she asked, "How many people did you hear saying that?"

Hikaru tilted his head in thought before he answered, "Not many. Most of the people I heard were talking about that adoption thing the old lady gave you both yesterday."

A snort of laughter came from underneath the blanket before they both heard a sleepy voice respond, "Old lady. That's funny."

She blushed, slightly embarrassed at where the words had come from before saying, "Hikaru, please come over here."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No sweetie, not with you. I promise."

As Hikaru approached the bed, Hinata snaked her arm out from underneath the covers and took his hand. She looked at him and said, "I want you to understand something. When I was little, Naruto-kun was very important to me. He gave me strength when I had none, and inspiration when I needed it most. He's pledged himself to both of us, and now we're _**his**_ strength and inspiration. From now on, it's important that we grow as a family, not only for Naruto-kun but for each other." She smiled at him and asked, "Can you help me do that?"

Hikaru watched his mother intently as she made the statement, trying to determine if she was lying but found only truth and honesty in her gaze. He thought about it for a moment before reminding himself that she had given everything for him, and now it was his turn to give his mother something back.

He smiled and said, "I'll help you out, mom. I promise."

"Thank you, Hikaru. I'm happy to hear you say that."

The room remained quiet for a few seconds before Hikaru decided to break the silence.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Are you naked under the covers?"

Hinata looked away from Hikaru as she blushed furiously and said, "Umm…"

"Naruto seems to be."

She didn't think it was possible, but her face turned even redder as she tried to hide her embarrassment from her son.

"Mom, why are you both naked?"

Another snort of laughter came from underneath the covers as a humorous voice said, "Yes mom, why are we both naked?"

She seemed to find the strength she'd had these past eight years upon hearing that statement. Her blush quickly fading, she looked at her son and said, "Hikaru, please wait outside."

"But you didn't answer my…"

She cut him off with authority. "Now. End of discussion."

Hikaru realized that she was getting angry, and he left the room quickly to wait in the hall, shutting the door behind him.

Hinata threw the covers back, glaring at Naruto. He saw the look on her face from the corner of his eye and rolled over onto his back, grinning mischievously at her as he rested his head on her stomach.

"Well, you're in a good mood this morning."

"You know it. And by the way, why didn't you answer Hikaru's question?"

"Why don't you watch what you say around him?"

"Because it's more fun this way. And now that we're both up…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and finished, "…how about another sparring session at my personal training ground?"

"Pervert!" Hinata quickly gave him a jyuuken strike to his stomach, driving the air out of him. "When did you get so full of yourself?"

"Oof!" Still smiling, he wrapped his arms around his midsection as he rolled off of her. "I've always been full of myself. You just haven't seen it before now."

In the blink of an eye he moved; his look smoldering as he knelt over her on all fours. His lips suddenly descended upon hers, awakening her senses and sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine. After a few moments he reluctantly broke off the kiss and leaned back a bit before his right hand came up to lovingly caress her cheek.

"And how is my wife today?"

She smiled and answered, "I'm happy, my husband."

He continued to trace his fingers along her jaw, mesmerized by the paleness of her skin. "You look beautiful this morning. Especially after being so properly loved by me."

Hinata cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, "You think you were that good?"

He smirked and said, "Absolutely. If I had to rate my performance on a scale of one to ten, I'd most certainly get an eleven."

She frowned at him for being so self-absorbed, but she did have to admit that he was right. He was practically perfect last night, as he'd made love to her not just once but several times over, finally deciding to let them get some rest a few hours after midnight.

Raising her hand to grasp the back of his neck she replied, "I'll be the judge of that. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to see if you can improve on last night."

Upon hearing this, his heartbeat quickened and his blue eyes gazed at her intensely as he said, "You have no idea how much it drives me crazy to hear you talk like that, Hinata-hime."

She was finding it hard to contain herself as she purred, "You'll just have to show me, Naruto-kun." And she pulled his head down, ready to meet his lips in a passionate kiss when she heard a voice from the other side of the hotel door.

"Hey! What are you guys doing in there? Are you coming out soon? I'm hungry!"

Naruto looked at Hinata and asked, "Didn't he have breakfast before leaving for the academy?"

"Of course he did. But he has the same problem as someone else I know." A growl came from his belly as she continued, "And that's a stomach without a bottom."

Discouraged at being interrupted, he sighed and said, "Okay. Let's get dressed and get some breakfast; then we can all spend the morning together. Hikaru doesn't have to go to the academy today."

"Only the morning? What about the rest of the day?"

He looked apologetic as he said, "Sorry, Hinata-hime. I have two very important appointments today at noon and two o'clock and I can't miss them no matter what. But I should be done by three; how about I spend an hour or so with Hikaru doing some training and then after that we can get cleaned up and go out to dinner someplace?"

She looked at him and said appreciatively, "That sounds nice. Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"No need to thank me. Both of you are my precious people, after all."

Hinata gazed into his sapphire blue eyes and saw the sincerity behind his words. Her heart swelled, knowing she finally had the life and the husband she always wanted…

…and now all she needed to make everything complete was his love.

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* * *

.

The morning passed faster than Naruto had thought possible, probably due to the fact that he and Hinata had slept in very late. Normally breakfast would have been a quick event, but Naruto had gotten into an eating contest with Hikaru and even though he'd eventually won, Naruto left the restaurant impressed by Hikaru's eating skills. The only person who hadn't been impressed was Hinata, who stared at them both throughout most of the meal with a disapproving look on her face.

Since today was his last day at the hotel, he thought it would be a good idea for Hinata to start shopping for the new house. He provided her with his bank account number and told her to spend the rest of the afternoon picking out furniture, promising to meet them both at the Hyūga estate by three o'clock.

As Hinata left with Hikaru in tow, he saw a smile light up her face with happiness. It appeared that his decision to let her decorate the house was the right one, as he suddenly realized that with this one simple gesture he'd given Hinata complete control over something for the first time in her life. Although he was sure Hinata would enjoy the afternoon shopping, he didn't think Hikaru felt the same way about it and next time he might think twice about skipping his classes at the academy.

With about a minute to spare, Naruto walked into the Bank of Konoha and stepped up to the front desk. The woman sitting there stopped what she was working on and said, "May I help you, sir?"

"Yes, I need to speak to the manager of the bank. I have a rather large transaction to complete with the Hyūga clan, and…"

She immediately smiled and said, "Ah, yes…We've been expecting you, Lord Namikaze. The office you're looking for is down that hall, last door on the left. Would you like me to bring you something to drink before your meeting?"

"Umm, no thank you. And you can just call me Naruto."

She shook her head and said, "I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that. It's bank policy that proper respect must be given at all times, especially for clan heads."

Right, clan heads. He'd forgotten that one little bit of information when he'd decided to take his father's name. Feeling uncomfortable at hearing his new title, he nodded and quickly walked down the hall to the manager's office, and upon entering he noticed that one important person was missing from the group.

The woman behind the desk rose from her seat and said, "Welcome, Lord Namikaze. I'm Kohada, manager here at the Bank of Konoha. I believe you already know Neji Hyūga, correct?"

Neji bowed his head slightly and said, "Hello, Naruto. You appear to be a bit distracted this afternoon; are you feeling okay?"

Feeling embarrassed, Naruto placed a hand at the back of his neck and said, "Uh, yeah. It was a long night, and then Hikaru woke us up early this morning."

Surprised, Neji raised his eyebrows and asked, "Hikaru woke you up? He shouldn't have been there at all. What was he doing at your hotel room?"

"It's a long story; I'll fill you in after we're done. Speaking of which, where's Hiashi?"

Neji grinned and said, "He didn't deem this meeting important enough for him to attend, so he allowed me to handle it." He leaned over and whispered, "Personally, I think he's intimidated by you and your negotiating skills."

Naruto grinned back at him. "I like your explanation better. Let's just go with that."

Seeing that their attention was now back on her, Kohada looked and them and said, "Now then, gentlemen. The Hyūga clan requested this meeting, but neglected to inform me of the purpose. What can I do for you?"

Naruto took the Namikaze checkbook out of his pocket and slid it across the counter to the bank manager. "I want you to transfer the funds from this account over to the general account of the Hyūga clan. Please provide me with two receipts confirming the transaction; one for my records and one for Neji to bring back to Hiashi."

Kohada picked up the ledger and read the balance, her eyes becoming wide. "Sir, do you realize that you're transferring five hundred thousand Ryo to the Hyūga clan?"

Naruto nodded. "I realize this, yes."

"You'll have to sign an authorization to complete the request due to the amount being so large."

"That's fine. Please go and get the authorization form, and Neji and I will wait for you here."

Kohada nodded and left the office to get the form. As soon as she did, Naruto turned to Neji and asked, "Did you bring documents I asked for?"

Neji produced two scrolls and handed them over to Naruto. He opened the first, which happened to be the marriage agreement for Hanabi and Konohamaru before moving on to the second document, which was the message to Lord Isamu declining his marriage proposal. Both were signed by Hiashi and affixed at the bottom with the Hyūga family seal.

As Naruto continued to scan the documents, he noticed that both of them had been professionally drawn up. He turned to Neji and said, "These appear to be skillfully worded. I'm hoping they were created under your supervision."

Neji nodded at him and said, "I wrote the general outlines last night, and then hired an independent counsel – one recommended by Kakashi – to create legally binding documents. I personally guarantee that they're ironclad, and no loopholes exist for my uncle to either exploit or render them null and void."

"Very nice. I appreciate the hard work you put into making sure they couldn't be altered."

"The pleasure is mine, Naruto. Frankly, I was disgusted with my uncle when I learned of what he'd done and even though your methods were a bit…shall we say, unconventional…it's the end result that truly matters." He bowed his head and finished, "Hinata, Hanabi, Konohamaru and I all owe you a great debt for your efforts."

Naruto was about to say something when Kohada walked back into the room with the form Naruto requested in hand.

"Here we are, Lord Namikaze. Standard document; this will transfer the sum of five hundred thousand Ryo from the Namikaze estate account to the Hyūga clan general account. I just need to your initials here…here…and then sign here at the bottom."

Naruto did as instructed, and she rolled up the form and said, "Thank you. I'll have copies drawn up immediately; one will be delivered to each estate within the hour. Seals will be placed on them so that only you two gentlemen will be able to open the documents. Will that be acceptable?"

Saying yes, both men rose from their seats and bowed, thanking the bank manager before walking out of her office and leaving the bank. Once outside, Naruto turned and said, "So, Neji. I've got some time to kill before my next meeting at two o'clock. Care to join me for lunch? I'm buying…"

"Thank you for the offer, Naruto. I'll gladly accept, as long as it's someplace other than Ichiraku Ramen."

Throwing up his hands, Naruto exclaimed, "What does everyone have against ramen?" He rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. We're close to Akimichi barbeque, how about we go there?"

Neji nodded in agreement, and they walked along in silence for a bit before Naruto spoke up.

"So, I couldn't help but overhear you on the dance floor at the reception. Six kids, huh?"

Neji smiled and said, "I thought it was a nice round number to start with. Tenten had a few things to say about it, though…"

"I thought she might." Naruto paused for a moment before he said, "Any chance you'll name one of your children after me?"

Neji stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Naruto for a few seconds before answering, "You're out of your mind. There's absolutely no chance of that happening."

"C'mon, Neji…You just said that you guys owe me a great debt, and I think if you name one of your kids after me, we can call it even."

Neji was never more serious in his life as he said, "Naruto, I agree that we owe you a great debt. But there isn't enough money in all of Konoha to convince me to name one of my children _**Naruto Hyūga**_."

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A/N: So, hopefully everyone who read the lemon scene liked my work. Like I said earlier, it's not the easiest stuff to write but hopefully I put forth a good first effort.

Now, I know that most of you remembered from the end of last chapter I'd promised two things…the lemon scene, and the reveal as to what's been going on between Kurama and Naruto. You got one, but not the other and people will want to know why I did this. It's very simple, actually…I lied! I screwed up! My dog ate my homework! Seriously though, I had to put it off until the next chapter because it was simply too big to put at the end of this one. But I promise and pinky swear that it will be the next thing I write.

_**No recommendation this week. I'm still encouraging everyone to read the NaruHina Chronicles on DeviantArt by MattWilson83. There's almost three-thousand pages of NaruHina goodness to whet your appetite, so check it out. Link is in my previous chapter.**_

So…next chapter is the Kurama and Naruto reveal, and then we hit a timeskip forward for a few months in the story. New stuff coming down the pipeline, so leave those reviews because they really do help. And the more reviews I get, the faster I write. The faster I write, the closer we get to Naruto finding out who Hikaru's father really is.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	10. Spin the Threads of Fate

**Deep in the man sits fast his fate…To mold his fortunes, mean or great…Obeying time, the last to own…It watches from its cloudy throne…Behold, it's Chapter 10.**

Okay…this will be the last chapter in which I give my standard thanks to Nube de Cristal for allowing me to adopt her story. From here on out it should be implied since the content going forward will be entirely original content on my part.

I also want to thank my anonymous beta for his continued help and support.

Now, I just to mention something about the reviews. I know I ask for them – as does every writer here on FanFiction – and I tell everyone that I read them all, and make adjustments to the story based on what they say. But the question remains, how do you know if this is true? Well, just as an example I'll reference two items…the first was from chapter 8, when everyone was out on the dance floor. That idea came from a suggestion that **Chewie Cookies** sent me. And later in this chapter, you'll see a small reference to how Hikaru got into the hotel room which came from the review of **Titokhan**. There are several others, but all I'm trying to say is that your reviews actually do help me write. So please continue to leave them!

I'm also giving people the heads-up that there are pieces of this chapter that may shock you a bit. However, please read to the end and I promise to explain everything. Just don't freak out on me, okay?

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, but be warned…Konoha is headed for a disaster of epic proportions.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – What do you mean, epic proportions?**_

_**Disclaimer – I'm talking real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Sounds bad. Anything else?**_

_**Disclaimer – Forty years of darkness! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together…MASS HYSTERIA!**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – All right, all right! I get the point! (+1 if you get the reference.)**_

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Chapter 10: Spin the Threads of Fate

Lunch with Neji had been pleasant, both of them reminiscing about the old days – if you could call them that, since they were both only twenty-six years old – when things were carefree and simple. About a time when the only things to worry about were the basics of life, before responsibilities and family came along and fate decided on a whim to change the course of human events.

And the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that _fate was an evil son of a bitch_ and _hindsight was his twisted sidekick_.

A long time ago, he'd helped convince Neji that a person's fate wasn't predestined, but instead could be changed for the better. Lately, Naruto had made great strides in drawing a new path for himself, but he couldn't keep his thoughts from straying to the 'what if' scenarios of his past. Looking back, there were many things he would have changed but the biggest regret he had by far was not acknowledging Hinata and her feelings for him right after the fight with Pain.

It would have changed so much in his life. The heartbreak of his relationship with Sakura and his time with the Mienai Segi wouldn't have happened, and he would have been with Hinata right from the start, reciprocating her love and saving her from years of public ridicule and scorn.

He was the one responsible for all of it. If only…

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar source. _**Kit, if you continue with this line of thinking you'll only drive yourself mad. Trying to unravel the mysteries of the past is indeed a fool's errand.**_

_Don't you ever wonder about stuff like this, Kurama? How life could have been different by changing one little thing?_

_**There have been many times I've thought about my existence and the choices I've made. However, through it all I've come to understand that the past is nothing but a weight that sits upon your shoulders, and the more you dwell upon it the heavier it becomes, making you less capable of living in the present. **_

Naruto stopped in front of the entrance to the Hokage tower and thought about that. _Does it ever go away? This feeling of regret?_

There was a long pause before Kurama answered. _**No, not really. Time cannot erase these wounds, only diminish them. I'd advise you to learn from the mistakes that you've made, and realize that everything you've endured has worked together to bring you to this moment, allowing you to make the choice for a better future, not only for yourself but for the family you now possess. **_

_In your experience, have you ever found something that makes the memories less painful? _

**_Actually, yes. The right person can be a powerful influence, providing a strong foundation and allowing the wounds of the soul to heal._**

As Naruto climbed the stairs to Kakashi's office, a picture of his lovely wife came to mind. _You mean like Hinata?_

**_Correct. _**

_And who was that person for you?_

Another pause. **_In all honesty it was you, Naruto. In all my years of existence, you were the first person – with the exception of the Sage of the Six Paths – who treated me with respect as an equal, and not as a cancer that should be eradicated from their body._**

Naruto stopped walking for a moment and smiled. _Thank you, Kurama. That makes me feel better about the decision I made._

_**You're welcome, Naruto. Now, we've both waited long enough for this day, so let's see our decisions through to the end.**_

He entered the office where everyone was ready and waiting for him. Closing the door behind him, he walked up and hugged Tsunade. "Hey, Baa-chan. Thanks for coming."

She smirked at him. "No problem, gaki. How are you today?"

Embarrassed, he placed a hand at the back of his neck and replied, "Neji asked me almost exactly the same thing. I'm tired. It was a long night, and then Hikaru woke us up a little too early this morning."

"Hikaru was at your hotel? He shouldn't have been there in the first place. How did he even get in?"

Naruto shrugged. "We have no idea, but I'm guessing he just stole a key from the front desk when the manager turned his back. It's actually pretty impressive that he was able to sneak in without us noticing. As to why he was there, he informed us that there were a few people in the village talking about the nine tailed fox and what might have happened to Hinata last night because of it. He got worried and came to check on us."

"Assholes." Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was that the only thing they were talking about?"

"Believe it or not, it wasn't. Hikaru also told us that most of them were discussing the adoption agreement you gave me. I guess they were shocked that you'd do such a thing, and wondered if you were drunk when you did it."

She laughed a little in response. "No, surprisingly sober for once. And for the record, it was long overdue anyway."

He smiled back at her. "Thanks. It's nice to be wanted for a change." He turned and said, "Kakashi-sensei, I need to ask a small favor before we start." He produced the two scrolls and handed them over. "The first document requires your approval; however I'd like to request that the contents be classified as an S-rank secret. You'll understand why when you read it. And I need the second delivered by an ANBU messenger to a specific noble in the Land of Iron."

Kakashi opened the marriage contract and looked it over, remaining silent while his eye widened in surprise. Rolling it back up, he opened the second one and quickly scanned it, before he eye smiled in understanding. "No problem, Naruto. After the meeting I'll personally see to it that both of these are taken care of. Maybe I'll ask Kurenai to deliver the message; I'm sure she'd be happy to do it considering the parties involved."

He nodded in thanks before extending his hand to the third person in the room. "Inoichi. It's nice to see you again."

Inoichi shook his hand and said, "And you as well, Naruto. When Kakashi said you needed a favor, I told him I'd be happy to help in any way I can. I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving my life."

Immediately, memories of the fourth shinobi war came flooding back. Even though Naruto had fought hard to save everyone, in the end the number of casualties had been great and despite his efforts, Naruto had even lost a few of his friends.

…_Kankuro had died in a battle with the Edo Tensei resurrection of Sasori of the Red Sands._

…_Sai was killed protecting Neji and Hinata on the battlefield during the fight with the Juubi._

…_And Anko Mitarashi, along with an entire squad of elite ANBU had been wiped out by Madara Uchiha during his initial attack using Susanoo._

When the Juubi fired a Bijuudama at the Alliance HQ, it had only been by sheer luck that Naruto had been sending one of his kage bunshin there to help. Sensing the attack coming and knowing that he only had seconds left, his clone barged into the room intent on saving as many as he could with the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

There were only two people in the room at the time…Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara, and he didn't have time to transport both. Since Inoichi was the closest one to the entrance, he reached him first and transported him to safety. Shikaku hadn't been so lucky.

Shikamaru told him afterwards that he wasn't to blame, but Naruto had still felt responsible. His death, along with many others still haunted his dreams on occasion as another 'what if' moment from his past, thinking that if he'd just had a few more seconds both men would be alive today.

Shaking his head, he dismissed his thoughts of the past and returned to the present. He smiled at Inoichi and said, "I appreciate that; however saving your life was simply the right thing to do. You know I'm not the kind of person who keeps a list of what someone owes me, but what I'm asking of you today is a special case because if you do this one thing for me, I'll consider your debt paid in full."

Everyone raised their eyebrows at his comment before Kakashi broke the silence. "Well Naruto, yesterday at the reception you promised us an explanation before we went any further, so please tell us why you asked for this meeting."

"Sure. But in order to do that I'll need everyone in here." He tapped the side of his head for emphasis.

A look passed between the three of them before Kakashi nodded in approval. Inoichi had them all join hands and close their eyes before he transported them into the mindscape of Naruto, appearing before the kyuubi.

They immediately looked around, shocked at the change in the surroundings. As it had been since the previous morning, the only item to be seen was the cage and the rest of the landscape was devoid of color, like a blank piece of paper.

_Naruto, what…what the hell is going on? Why does your mind look like this? Did the kyuubi do it? Is your seal starting to weaken?_

Naruto waved his hands in front of his face. _Whoa, hold on Kakashi-sensei. I told you I'd explain everything, and I will. Kurama didn't do any of this, it was…outside influences._

_Who's Kurama?_

_Kurama is the real name of the kyuubi, and I'd appreciate you showing him the proper respect by using it. Through his efforts and the use of his power, he helped save many lives during the fourth shinobi war and he deserves just as much credit for what happened as I do._

Everyone turned to look at the cage, as Kurama stared at them from behind the bars with a grin spread across his muzzle. _**Hello Kakashi, Tsunade, Inoichi. Your presence here today is…most appreciated.**_

Naruto could feel the tension beginning to rise and decided that getting right to the point would be best. _To answer your question, I know that this area of my mind usually appears as a dark, damp sewer. However, it was recently brought to my attention that conditions in here can change when I'm affected by true emotional happiness. In this case, it's because Hinata – and to a smaller extent Hikaru – have now become a large part of my life._

After a few moments, Kakashi looked at Naruto and eye smiled. _Ah...I get it now; true emotional happiness. So basically, Hinata is your one true love. Fancy that. I'll bet you want to thank me now for making you go see Hiashi that day._

Naruto rolled his eyes at him. _Fine, Kakashi-sensei. Thanks for making me go see Hiashi and agreeing to marry Hinata, because she really is the best thing that's ever happened to me. But we're getting away from the real reason why I brought you all here._

He paused for a few seconds. _I'm going to set Kurama free._

They all looked at him with eyes as big as dinner plates, shocked that he would utter such a ridiculous statement. Immediately they all began shouting at him, thinking him insane and forbidding him from performing such an action.

Starting to get a headache from everyone yelling inside his mind, Naruto rubbed his temples and gave Kurama a pleading look, silently asking for help.

Kurama caught his glance and quickly understood. _**SILENCE, HUMANS!**_

All three visitors quickly became quiet as Kurama continued. _**None of you have allowed Naruto to explain the reasoning behind his decision. Allow him to finish before you render judgment.**_ He turned his head to look at Naruto. _**Go ahead, kit.**_

_Thanks, Kurama._ He looked at everyone once again, even though his gaze was focused on Kakashi. _Because of Hinata's – let's call it influence – things in here have changed for the better and Kurama has asked me to release him from his cage, and better living conditions while he's here. However, he isn't doing this for free and what he's offering in exchange comes at great personal cost to him._

Kakashi looked at him skeptically. _And what exactly did he offer, Naruto?_

_Unrestricted access to his chakra. No hate. No anger. No matter how much power I use, I'll always remain in complete control._

_Is this true, kyuu…sorry, Kurama?_

_**Yes. Escape from Naruto will no longer be an option, and he will have the ability to utilize my power in any manner he sees fit to protect those who are precious to him.**_

Tsunade still looked skeptical. _Who decides which people are precious to him?_

_**Naruto will. So I'd suggest staying on his good side, if I were you.**_

They all looked Naruto before Inoichi continued. _Okay, let's assume for a minute that we allow you to free him. What do you need us for?_

Naruto smirked. _Well, first of all there's no allowing me to do anything. I have the key, and I can free Kurama with or without anyone's approval. Besides, I already promised him freedom in exchange for what he's offering, and everyone here knows that I never go back on my word._

He pointed at the three of them. _Kakashi-sensei, you're here simply because you're the Hokage and you told me it's important for you to know what resources you have available for the protection of Konoha. I'd say this would be a big one, if not the biggest. Baa-chan, you're here because I'm guessing that I'll need your healing skills for what's about to happen. Inoichi, you're here because of your clan's ability to influence the mind, and I'm willing to bet that Kurama has an idea of what he wants his new home to look like. After we're done, you're going to make changes to the scenery around here for him._

He tilted his head in thought before turning back to Kurama. _Now that I think about it, you never did tell me what would happen when we did this, or what you wanted things to look like. Care to elaborate?_

Kurama grinned. _**I thought you'd never ask. The ceremony is quite simple, actually. I will swear a blood oath to you, offering my power in exchange for freedom from this cage. During the process, I will be augmenting your healing abilities while Tsunade assists from the outside using the Hyakugou to heal your chakra coils, which will be forced to expand and quickly adapt to the sudden influx of power you will now control.**_

Inoichi looked at Kurama curiously. _Excuse me, but isn't that rather dangerous? I mean, you're going to be letting a huge amount of power rush into his body, almost like breaking a dam that's holding back a river. Won't that be rather painful? _

_**You are correct, this process will be rather painful and under normal circumstances, I would agree that the level of risk far outweighs the reward. But I'm confident that through our combined efforts Naruto will survive, and you cannot deny that the end result for both of us will be worth it. Once we're finished, I would like you to change the landscape to appear as the Elysium Fields.**_

Inoichi looked confused. _Umm, I don't know what that is. Can you explain it?_

_**In a far off country that Naruto and I visited several years ago, there lives a warrior race called the Spartans. The Elysium Fields are what they believe lie between this life and the next; a land of perfect happiness at the end of the earth. It is a place of great and beautiful fields, perpetual springtime and shady groves, blessed with its own sun and lit by its own stars.**_

Inoichi could almost picture what it looked like from Kurama's descriptive words. _Okay, I think I've got it. _

_**Very well. I would ask that you stay here to witness the oath and then perform your task. Is this acceptable?**_

Inoichi nodded in agreement.

Kurama looked at Tsunade. _**Once you and Kakashi leave this mindscape, please be ready to use the Hyakugou. And I'd advise against any thought you might have of withholding assistance, because the only one you'll harm by doing so will be Naruto. Understand?**_

Tsunade nodded.

_**We'll begin once we sense that you are ready. **_And with that, Kurama pushed them both out of the mindscape and back into the real world.

_*****Sidestep*****_

Kakashi and Tsunade inhaled sharply before opening their eyes and disengaging their grip from Naruto and Inoichi.

Kakashi spoke first. "I don't like this, not one bit of it. Is there any way we can stop this from happening?"

"Not a chance, Kakashi. You know as well as I do that once Naruto makes a promise he never goes back on his word. He can let the kyuubi…I mean Kurama out with or without our permission, and right now he's holding all the cards in this little poker game of his." She made a few hand signs and the Hyakugou markings spread across her face.

"But he's talking about letting the most powerful tailed beast in existence roam free in his mind! What's to stop him from just taking over and destroying the village again?"

"Look, I'm finding it just as hard to trust Kurama as you are, but one thing I do know for certain is that I trust Naruto with my life." Tsunade placed her glowing hands over his heart before looking back up at Kakashi. "And right now, I really don't care about anything else. I just adopted the gaki, and I'm going to do everything I can to see that my grandson makes it through this."

_*****End Sidestep*****_

With Kakashi and Tsunade gone, Kurama turned his attention back to Inoichi. _**While we wait for Tsunade to prepare, I would request two items. First, Naruto will need a katana at least three feet in length. Second, I require that you bend a portion of the bars of my cage, enough for me to extend one paw beyond this cell.**_

He nodded and concentrated his stare on Naruto, and after a few moments a katana appeared in his right hand. Inoichi then turned his attention to the bars of the cage, causing one small section to bend slightly, allowing just enough room for Kurama to stick his paw through.

Before too long, everyone felt a surge of healing chakra from outside of the mindscape.

_**It appears that Tsunade is ready, Naruto. I will recite the oath, at the end of which you will be required to drive the katana up to the hilt through your hand and into my paw, allowing our substances to mingle and merge. At that point, our existence will essentially change from being co-dependent to coexistent. The bars of the cage should disappear, and my power will flow into you to be used at your discretion.**_

Kurama locked his steely gaze with Naruto. _**Remember my words from before. Fate has brought us both to this moment. Are you ready to begin?**_

Naruto took a deep breath and thought about what awaited him on the other side of the pain he'd have to endure…

_The opportunity to live a life without fear of losing control and hurting innocent people. The power to better protect those who are precious to me. _

He nodded._ Let's do this, Kurama._

_**I adjure and decree upon you that I and my power shall arise with all might and strength, fully and without reservation, nor with any mechanism founded in the intention to deceive, to prevail against those who would cause pain, suffering and harm. Whether by land or sea, day or night, grove or tree, moon or stars I shall protect and be ever watchful towards the achievement of those ends. There shall be no boundaries or conditions upon this, and those who would bring harm to my precious people will tremble with fear before me, FOR I AM POWER. I swear this upon the lives of my Bijuu brethren…Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, **__****__**Son Goku, **_Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, and Gyūki. I swear this upon the memory of the Sage of the Six Paths, the Rikudō Sennin. To break this oath is to invite death and suffering at the hands of the Shinigami for all eternity.

At this point, Kurama motioned for him to use the katana. Grasping the handle, Naruto drove it straight through the back of his hand into the paw of Kurama, causing chakra to flow from the wounds within his mindscape.

After a few seconds the chakra began to rotate, becoming a whirlpool of red and black underneath them both and the cage that held Kurama began to shimmer and blur, slowly melting away before being sucked into the current as well. The roar from the vortex grew louder and louder, suddenly erupting in a tornado of power and shooting skyward, pausing only for a moment before swiftly diving back down and slamming into the seal on Naruto's stomach.

Naruto had suffered through many levels of pain in his life, but they were nothing compared to this. His blood felt like it was boiling, burning him to death from the inside out while every nerve in his body cried out in agony. The chakra cloak formed around him, turning his skin red as the power threatened to overwhelm him and a scream formed behind his lips…

_*****Sidestep*****_

Naruto jerked beneath the hands of Tsunade as his body was suddenly bathed in red chakra, pushing out a massive amount of heat. Grunting, she kept her hands in place despite the pain she was experiencing, determined to heal him no matter what the cost.

Unable to do anything else, they watched helplessly as Naruto opened his mouth and emitted a scream of unbearable pain, the sound tearing at their eardrums. Knowing that the ANBU would be there within a few seconds, Kakashi quickly slammed his hand down on the privacy seals in the room to make sure they stayed as far away from his office as possible.

"What the hell is going on, Tsunade? The heat he's giving off is unreal! At this rate, he'll burn up in a matter of minutes and take us with him!"

"His chakra coils are being stretched to the limit, that's what's going on! They're liable to crack and break if I don't concentrate, so shut the fuck up and LET ME DO MY JOB!"

Hoping Naruto could hear her, she redoubled her efforts and said, "C'mon, gaki…You've never backed down from a fight in your life, and this is a battle you can't afford to lose. Dig deep; find your strength and WIN, dammit!"

_*****End Sidestep*****_

Inoichi could only watch in horror as Naruto began to bend downward, his body shaking under the agony of what was happening to him. True to his word, Kurama was making every effort to help Naruto through the experience, but it was obvious to him that it wasn't enough.

_What's going on, Kurama? It looks like he's dying! Whatever you and Tsuande are doing for him, it's not enough!_

Sweat began to flow from Kurama's forehead. _**I'm giving everything I have, but the pain he's experiencing is overwhelming his will to win. He needs to focus on the reasons behind his promise, otherwise he's going to lose this battle!**_

Surrounded by a sea of torment, Naruto was struggling to stay firm against the waves of hellfire that battered his body. Just as he was about to succumb to it all, he heard the voice of Inoichi cry out…

_Naruto! You need to remember why you're doing this! Remember those who are precious to you! Remember your family!_

Immediately, an image of Hinata and Hikaru appeared in the corner of his mind; his foundation of hope and strength against the ocean of madness that threatened to drown him within its depths. They are his beacon of light and salvation from the darkness, and he knew their presence would guide him to freedom.

Over and over, the power and rage crashed against him, attempting to swallow him within its waves before sliding back to attack again. However, each time they receded the rage grew weaker and he stood firm, refusing to be swept away from his goal. He stretched his hand towards his family, and as his fingers finally touched the light there was a terrifying last surge of power that assaulted his very being before finally snapping under the strength of his will. The warmth of his family expanded around him as the pain receded, the waves subsided and he found himself standing above it all, once again in control of his mind.

Breathing heavily, Naruto opened his eyes and saw Inoichi hovering over him, a concerned look on his face.

_You still with us, Naruto? Kurama and I were worried for a while that we were going to lose you. Are you okay?_

He grunted a bit as he sat up. _Yeah, I'm okay. I heard your words during my struggle…Without them, I probably wouldn't be here right now. So thanks._

Inoichi smiled. _You're welcome. But the majority of thanks should go to Kurama and Tsunade. They're the ones who held you together during the entire thing._

Naruto turned to Kurama, who he noticed had shrunk quite a bit and was now only about ten feet tall. _So…Was that what you expected to happen?_

_**No, that was far worse. If I had known it was going to be that bad, I would have taken better precautions. Fortunately for both our sakes you made it through. Can you stand?**_

_Not really. I think I'll stay right where I am for a little while. Besides, my part is done and it's your turn now, Inoichi._

Kurama turned a hopeful eye towards him. _**At the present time, do you have the strength to perform your task?**_

Inoichi nodded. _I think so. Just give me a minute to prepare, and then I'll begin._ He sat down and assumed the lotus position, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow in concentration.

After a few minutes, the scenery gradually began to change. Grass formed below where Inoichi was sitting, lush and green and Kurama watched in fascination as it slowly spread out from underneath everyone to the farthest corners of Naruto's mind. He could feel how soft it was beneath his paws, just long enough to create a wonderful bed if he wished to.

A sun appeared overhead, positioned slightly past its zenith as rays of gold bore down and bathed everyone in their warmth. Trees began to dot the landscape at various points, their branches offering a comforting shade to rest and relax. As Inoichi continued to work his magic, they began to hear the occasional chirp of a bird off in the distance while a light breeze brushed across the plain, making the grass and leaves dance with its touch.

Perspiring heavily, Inoichi opened his eyes and looked at Kurama. _I'm sorry, but I can't make the landscape endless because I'm constrained to the limits of the mind. However, I was able to give you an area about three times the size of Konoha to roam around in. As far as the sun, I've made it so that it will follow the same path as ours, rising and setting at exactly the same time and even though you can't see it right now, I created a sky filled with stars for you at night. Per your request, the season will perpetually be spring. I hope everything meets with your approval._

Kurama raised his muzzle, drinking in his new surroundings and feeling the sun and wind against his fur. After a few moments, he walked over to lie down in the shade beneath the nearest tree, closing his eyes and placing his head upon his front paws.

_**I am content with what you have made, Inoichi. You have my gratitude.**_

The two of them passed a look between each other, silently realizing that it was time to go. Inoichi walked over to Naruto, and the last image they saw before leaving was Kurama with a smile upon his face.

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Naruto opened his eyes in the real world, immediately noticing that his body was now lying on the floor. Tsunade was hovering over him, her eyes wet with tears and a worried look upon her face.

"Gaki…Are you hurt? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay…"

He smiled wearily and said, "I'm fine, Baa-chan. Can you and Kakashi-sensei help me stand up? I'm feeling a little weak at the moment…"

As Naruto was hauled to his feet, every muscle in his body screamed like an abscessed tooth and his legs almost gave out from underneath him. Tsunade and Kakashi helped steady him for a minute before he waved them off, wobbling a bit as he tried to stand on his own.

Still wearing a concerned look, Tsunade hovered over him and asked, "Gaki, you were wrapped in red chakra and screaming your head off in pain. Kakashi had to activate the privacy seals to keep the ANBU from rushing to his office. What the hell happened in there?"

Naruto proceeded to tell them everything…how Kurama had made the oath, and the power erupted far beyond what he thought possible, threatening to burn him alive from the inside. He told them about how the image of Hinata and Hikaru appeared to help guide him out of the darkness, as the rage and pain he absorbed from the chakra threatened to overwhelm him.

At this point, Inoichi continued the story and told them about how he created the new landscape for Kurama, before leaving him in the shade beneath a tree with a smile on his face.

Kakashi and Tsunade just sat there, stunned expressions on their faces as the two of them spun their tale of what happened. After a few moments, Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "Well Naruto, you never cease to amaze me. That would have killed a lesser man, and yet here you are still among us. I know Tsunade and Kurama helped, but overall it's still an impressive feat to be able to withstand and contain such power."

"Thanks. I wouldn't want to do that again, though. By the way, what time is it?"

Kakashi looked at the clock. "It's two fifty-six in the afternoon. Why?"

"Because I promised Hinata that I'd be home by three. I can't thank all of you enough for what you did today, but I need to go."

Shocked, Tsunade looked at him and said, "Are you out of your mind? You're in no condition to walk, let alone go anywhere. I think I should admit you to the hospital for the rest of the day."

Naruto sported an evil grin before saying, "You expect me to be a patient in the hospital the day after my wedding? There's no chance in hell of that happening, Baa-chan. And besides, who said anything about walking?" And with that, he disappeared in a flash of yellow light, leaving behind two astonished men and one very upset relative in his wake.

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* * *

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Naruto appeared in front of his house, his legs shaking as he struggled to place one foot in front of the other, knowing full well that no matter how hard he tried Hinata was going to notice the sorry shape he was in right now. He briefly thought about using a henge to disguise himself, but quickly dismissed the idea because he just didn't have the strength and with the byakugan, Hinata would be able to see through it anyway. Resigned to his fate, he put his best face on and walked through the door, already dreading the worried look Hinata was going to have when she saw him.

Right away he noticed her, sitting on one of the new pieces of furniture she'd bought that afternoon, smiling and humming happily to herself as she flipped through a book of fabric swatches, maybe for accent pillows or curtains…He wasn't really sure, and he didn't care anyway because the only thing that mattered to him was that she was happy.

After a moment Hinata stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. Immediately, the smile vanished from her face as her eyes took in his current condition. She hadn't seen him look like this since winning the last battle in the fourth shinobi war; his whole body was shaking slightly and he was using the banister on the stairs as a crutch to remain standing.

"Na…Naruto-kun?"

He smiled at her and said, "Hey, Hinata-hime. Did you have fun shopping this afternoon?"

In an instant she was next to him; her hands on either side of his face as she looked at him, worried that somehow he'd been hurt or far worse. "What happened to you? Why do you look like this? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, really. I've just had a busy afternoon, that's all. Can you help me walk over to the sofa so I can sit down? My legs aren't working very well at the moment."

She draped his arm over her shoulders and slowly guided him to the sofa, where he collapsed in a tired heap. She sat down next to him, still concerned at how he looked. "You…You don't seem fine, Naruto-kun. You look very pale and weak." She placed a hand on his forehead and asked, "Are you sure you're okay? How do you feel?"

A picture of Kurama, smiling as he relaxed in the shade beneath the tree suddenly came to mind. Giving Hinata the exact same look, his hand came up to caress her cheek before placing the most tender, loving kiss he possibly could upon her lips. After a few moments he broke off the kiss and looked deep into her eyes as he said…

"I feel free, Hinata. For the first time in my life…I feel free."

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_*****Time Skip*****_

In the blink of an eye, four months had passed in Konoha.

Despite the fact that Neji could have informed Hanabi and Konohamaru the next day about the marriage proposal, he decided to wait until he knew the message had been delivered to Lord Isamu, which happened one week later when Kurenai returned to the village with her clothes stained in blood. She informed them that Lord Isamu hadn't taken the news very well and vowed to have Hanabi by any means necessary, at which point she had been forced to kill most of his personal guard before he finally understood that the phrase 'no further contact' wasn't a bluff and meant just that.

Needless to say, Hanabi and Konohamaru were overjoyed that the arrangement with Lord Isamu had been called off and that they were now free to marry each other. Hinata asked how this was possible since the promise of two hundred and fifty thousand Ryo would go unfulfilled, but Neji told them that someone had overheard the two of them talking on the dance floor and doubled the offer from Lord Isamu so that they could get married, asking for nothing as compensation in return. When Hinata pressed him for a name, Neji informed everyone that the information had been classified as an S-rank secret and that only the Hokage knew who the unknown benefactor was, so the best course of action would be to just appreciate the gift and let the matter drop.

Not wanting to take the chance that her father would change his mind, Hanabi insisted the wedding take place right away. It was a small ceremony of about one hundred people, only attended by family and some of their closest friends. At the reception, Hanabi and Konohamaru gave a speech acknowledging their anonymous savior and his generosity, promising if that person ever decided to reveal their identity they would find a way to thank him properly. While Naruto and Neji were inwardly pleased at hearing this, Hiashi wasn't and privately seethed about the fact he was outmaneuvered by Naruto and the nine tailed fox.

After Naruto revealed the news about Matsuri being pregnant, it didn't surprise anyone when a message arrived from Suna informing everyone that the wedding of Gaara and Matsuri would take place in a little over a month. Apparently, the villagers were overjoyed with the news of her impending birth, as the Kazekage would now have a child to carry on the family name.

However, the real surprise was that Gaara had asked Naruto to be his best man at the ceremony. He was sure that they were both still mad at him despite his many apologies, but they quickly dismissed the thought and told him that was all in the past. They even asked for the name of the chef who had crafted the wedding cake, as Matsuri had loved the idea and wanted to do the same thing at their reception.

Remembering what Hinata had done to him, he remained on guard when the two of them cut and served a piece of cake to each other, before smiling and kissing at the end. Naruto relaxed, thinking the moment for revenge on their part had passed but before he could react, fifty pies fell from the ceiling, covering him from head to toe and ruining his kimono.

Even though everyone at the wedding had been laughing, he could hear Gaara and Matsuri laughing the loudest as they pointed at him and said, "Got you, Naruto!" After a few moments, he joined them in laughter thinking that the two of them had pulled off this classic prank all on their own until Hinata came up to him with a change of clothes, basically announcing to him that she had been in on the joke. He then proceeded to chase her around the reception hall, not bothering to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu because he was having far too much fun, and the audience appeared to be enjoying the show. He quickly caught her in a bear hug, bringing another round of laughter from the guests as he shared his fruit filled retribution with his lovely wife.

It appeared that Sasuke and Sakura were settling into the knowledge of being parents soon; every day that passed she seemed to glow in anticipation of their impending bundle of joy. However, Sasuke was just as difficult to read as ever, remaining the same impassive and unemotional person he always was. Naruto knew his friend was happy about becoming a father, but Sakura apparently wanted him to show it and constantly voiced her displeasure regarding his attitude, which led to him asking Naruto if he could use the guest bedroom at his house on more than a few occasions in an effort to avoid his hot tempered wife.

Hinata was enjoying her new life, happy to be free from her father and the coldness of the Hyūga compound. True to his word, Naruto had allowed her to decorate the house the way she wanted to, stopping her only on a few occasions to offer his opinion on matters that were important to him as well. The end result was a home that was warm, comfortable and forgiving, full of life and color and a perfect environment for Hikaru to grow up in. She had given him the bedroom on the east side of the house, so that the rising sun would warm his room and wake him up every morning.

Despite the fact that his days were filled with many things to do for the village, Naruto always made sure to spend as much time with Hikaru as he possibly could. He was sure that life for Hikaru and his mother hadn't been easy before now, and even though he wasn't Hikaru's real father, he deeply wanted the boy think of him as such. Things seemed to be going well in that regard and most days he was a normal, happy and carefree boy – but there were times when he would stare off into space, his look melancholy and his mind lost in thought. Naruto could only guess that it had something to do with his real father and questions that could never be asked, because no one either could or would give him the answers he sought.

Naruto began to appreciate many things about his new life that he took for granted before, now that he no longer had to worry about losing control and unintentionally hurting those around him. The thing he enjoyed most of all though was spending time with Hinata – it could be anything from playing a game of Shogi to one of their many lovemaking sessions – but it was simply her presence that filled him full of joy, and when he went away on missions it pained him to be away from her for long.

Today happened to be one of those rare occurrences when neither of them had a mission, and Kakashi didn't have any Hokage training for him to do. Hikaru was in for a long day of training at the academy, as Iruka had scheduled extra sparring sessions with his class to properly gauge their current skill levels. Since they had some time, Naruto thought it might be a good idea to bring Hinata out to training ground twenty-six to work on something he'd come up with.

"Okay, Hinata. I've been thinking about how your clan uses the jyuuken technique. You basically shoot a small spike of chakra through your fingertips to increase the strength of the blow, and when you do this in combination with your Byakugan, you can specifically target a person's tenketsu points in order to shut down parts of their chakra system. Do I have that right?"

Hinata nodded. "That's true, Naruto-kun. It's one of the main reasons why the Hyūga are excellent close range fighters."

"What does your clan do when it comes to long range fighting?"

Hinata looked at him in shock. No one had ever asked her that before. "Well, we really don't have any. Our clan has striven to enhance and perfect our strengths, not create new techniques."

Naruto grinned. "And that's why your compound looks like it does. I'm sorry to say Hinata, but your clan has absolutely ZERO creativity and they've become complacent with their strength. Learning the same techniques over and over again, no matter how good they are makes you stagnant and predictable – which is just a fancy way of saying 'easy target'. We're supposed to be creating new techniques to grow stronger and become better ninja, don't you think?"

She never really thought about it that way, but the more she did the more she realized it was true. She nodded in agreement and asked, "So…I'm guessing you want to teach me a long range technique?"

"Sure do. What if you could actually shoot those small spikes of chakra from a distance? That way, you wouldn't have to get close to your opponents and risk taking a hit, making you much more deadly in a fight. And the best part is…" He winked at her as he finished, "…no one else in your entire clan will know how to do it. It'll be yours and yours alone, and you'll decide who you want to teach it to."

Her mind was spinning as she thought about what Naruto had said. "Naruto-kun, how can I possibly do that? When I extend my chakra, it only lasts for a few seconds before it dissipates. It's never been done before!"

Naruto frowned at her and said, "That's your father talking, Hinata-hime. Just because it's never been done before doesn't mean that it CAN'T be done."

He was right. Even though she was now far away from the compound, there were times her father's influence reared up. It was a hard habit to break, and she hated that about herself.

"Besides…the Hyūga in you might be saying _you can't_, but you're a Namikaze now - _and I say you can_. After all these years, are you telling me you're going to go back on your nindō of never giving up?"

The words were like someone had thrown cold water in her face. Her head shot up and she looked at him with defiant eyes and said, "No. I'll never give up, Naruto-kun. I promise."

Naruto smiled and said, "Good! That's the type of attitude I expect from my wife!"

She blushed a bit at the compliment, thankful for his constant support and encouragement of her. She would have to thank him privately when they got home later…

Naruto picked up a stick and began to draw in the dirt. "Okay, here's your normal jyuuken. When you try to extend your chakra spike too far, it dissipates just like you said. Right?"

Hinata nodded, staring at the crude drawing intently.

"Well, I have a theory that the reason it dissipates is because it's encountering resistance. You need to make it so that it will cut through the air, allowing it to last longer and extend far beyond a few inches from your fingertips."

"But how…how can I do that?"

He erased part of his drawing and drew another chakra spike, only this time he made a swirl pattern over it. "I'm thinking that you can use the same principle that applies to shuriken. If we can make your jyuuken spin like that, it will cut through the air and allow you to strike your opponent over long distances. I figure the faster you make your chakra spin, the farther it will go."

Hinata suddenly understood. "You…You can teach me how to do this, Naruto-kun?"

"Absolutely, Hinata-hime! We'll start right now!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of water balloons and said, "Welcome to the wonderful world of Rasengan training."

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* * *

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While this was going on Kakashi Hatake, Hokage of Konoha sat in his office across town, staring at the mountain of paperwork upon his desk. Even though he knew the secret to defeating the bane of every Hokage's existence, he didn't have the chakra reserves that Naruto had and his shadow clones disappeared after only a few hours. He sighed, wondering how soon it would be before he could hand the job over to Naruto and retire to a little place on the outskirts of the village, where he could sit quietly and read his Icha Icha books all day long without interruption.

_Yeah, that would be the perfect retirement. Who could ask for anything more?_ He silently prayed to Kami that it happened soon.

His daydream was interrupted as an ANBU suddenly appeared in his office. "Lord Hokage, this just arrived by messenger hawk with specific instructions that the contents were for your eyes only. The message appears genuine; we've already checked it for traps and found none."

Kakashi took the scroll and nodded in thanks, dismissing the ANBU and activating the privacy seals in his office before opening it.

_Lady Hokage, it has been some time since we last spoke and even though I vowed to rely on my own strength to lead my village, I now find myself in a situation that requires me to ask for your assistance._

So whoever this person was, they were still under the impression that Tsunade was the Hokage. He suddenly became more interested as he read on.

_I have lived these past twelve years trying to change the antiquated laws of my village from being ruled by harsh and unforgiving kunoichi to one of an equal partnership between men and women alike. I believed that the changes I enacted had been accepted by the populace; however someone has recently appeared within our borders to usurp my position, intent on returning the laws to what they were before. _

_Her name is Ami no Shirokusa. She is a kunoichi from the Land of Stone, standing six feet nine inches tall and weighing in around 300 pounds. I have attached a picture for your reference._

Kakashi looked at the photo. This Ami no Shirokusa was certainly an imposing figure, standing far above everyone else in the picture. The look on her face spoke volumes; it was that of an oppressive dictator who held power utilizing terror and the constant threat of death.

_Don't be fooled by her appearance; she is extremely quick and incredibly strong. In addition to this, she knows a hidden jutsu that can turn her skin as hard as diamond, making her very hard to kill. She has already eliminated my personal bodyguard, along with anyone in the village foolish enough to offer resistance. I myself have tried on several occasions to assassinate her with no success, barely escaping with my life in the process._

_As I have no other resources available to help free my village from this vengeful tyrant, I formally request assistance under our agreement in file NBO-773218-G12C. Please send two jōnin level kunoichi to me at your earliest possible convenience, and keep in mind that due to the strength and speed of Ami no Shirokusa the survival rate of this mission will be slim at best. Regardless of the outcome, I will consider your debt to our village paid in full._

_I am currently hiding in a small cabin about three miles from the village border. Coordinates are listed at the end of this scroll. _

_Sincerely,  
Lady Shizuka  
Leader, Nadeshiko (Pink Flower) Village_

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, digesting the request. Something about the whole thing seemed familiar, but what? And what debt could she possibly be talking about?

And then a light bulb went off in his head. Opening a drawer, he moved aside the false bottom and removed the Sakura/Hinata mission file he had kept hidden these last few months. He looked at the number from the file and compared it to the one from the scroll.

They matched. _The marker had finally been called._

Kakashi immediately remembered his conversation with Naruto several months ago, promising to let him know if anything came across his desk that would help them solve the mystery of who Hikaru's real father is. Sending him on this mission would probably be the only chance they had of learning the truth, but how could he justify not providing what the client had expressly asked for?

And then Kakashi had an idea…A scathingly brilliant idea, actually. He almost created a shadow clone to pat himself on the back because he was that impressed with how great an idea it was. He reached into another drawer and pulled out a list of active kunoichi and their current status, quickly scanning it for anyone jōnin level and above. The list was surprisingly small, and he thought about each one as he checked off the names in his head...

_Sakura is currently on limited duty due to her being six months pregnant, making her unavailable for missions away from the village._

_Kurenai is on a mission with Shikamaru and Temari in Suna and won't be back for at least a week. While she's away, Ino is watching Asuma Jr. so I could still make the assumption that she's unavailable for work, even if it is stretching the truth a bit. _

_Even though she technically isn't active, I do have the authority to reinstate Tsunade if I need to. But there's no way I'm giving her the opportunity to continue keeping this information a secret and besides, __Lady Shizuka_ thinks she's still the Hokage.  


_That leaves only one person...Hinata. And I need to make sure she's unavailable for this mission, effective immediately._

He lowered the privacy seals on the room and hit a button on his desk, summoning the ANBU to his office. Within moments Boar, Tiger and Ram were kneeling in front of him.

"Lord Hokage. How may we be of assistance?"

Kakashi pointed at Ram and said, "I need you to go to the Mission Assignment Desk and have them provide me with a C-rank mission for some important noble. It's essential that the mission has a completion time of at least two days; three would be preferable…and I'll need it within ten minutes."

Nodding, the ANBU disappeared to complete his task.

He pointed at Boar and Tiger. "I need the two of you to find Hinata Hyūga…I mean, Hinata Namikaze and bring her to my office. Take the long way getting there because you need to give Ram some time to get back with the information I just requested. Thirty minutes or so should be enough."

The remaining two ANBU disappeared to search for Hinata, leaving Kakashi alone with his thoughts.

_If everything plays out like I think it will, I'll be able to send Naruto on this mission tomorrow. And the truth will finally be revealed._

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A/N: So, I promised you an explanation at the beginning of this chapter and I'm giving you one since I can already hear the screams…

"You killed off Kankuro and Sai? And if that wasn't bad enough, you killed off Anko Mitarashi, the sexiest and most beautiful kunoichi in the entire Leaf village? What the hell are you thinking?"

Well, Kankuro and Sai were never my favorite characters, and what I'm trying to do in this story going forward is be slightly different. I've read quite a few stories on FanFiction, and typically Kakashi will end up with Kurenai and Iruka will end up with Anko – or vice versa. I wanted to do a story where those two men ended up with someone different – readers should have noticed that Iruka married Shizune in my version, and I have someone in mind for Kakashi, just not Anko or Kurenai. It will be an OC of my own, but don't worry – she'll have quite a few qualities that will remind everyone of both women. And there will be a twist that she will bring to the story that I'm positive everyone will appreciate. So please just give it a few chapters to fill out and I think you'll be more than satisfied.

I also know that I'll probably get a PM about Naruto using the Hiraishin no Jutsu during the fourth shinobi war, since in the manga he doesn't know it yet. My response to that is to remember I just said slightly different.

Last of all, I realize that the beginning part of the story between Naruto and Kurama was rather long, but I did this on purpose. First of all, I felt that it was rather important for the story going forward – especially for where I want to take the plot. And second, to me it was the end of the first part of the story, since everything from chapter one up until now happened in the space of three weeks.

Also, the entire thing reflected some issues I've been having in my own life and writing about them was rather cathartic. So thanks in advance to everyone for allowing me to vent a bit.

_**Give credit where credit is due! **_Okay, new section here – I want to give props to others who have contributed their ideas to my work in order to make this a better story for everyone. So without further ado, here's the list:

My reader** bennie403**, who sent me a PM with an idea that I will be using a slight variation of for the OC I will create in regards to Kakashi and his love interest. Nice idea, and you'll see it develop in a few chapters.

Fellow author **TheGreatHibiki**, who gets credit for the character _Ami no Shirokusa_. I will only be using Ami for a few chapters, but the idea of a female version of Hagrid was just too juicy not to use.

Fellow author **Gadalla Rune**, who gets credit for Hinata's chakra idea. Occasionally, when reading a story on FanFiction the writer will come up with something fresh and new and this one was spectacular, as far as I'm concerned. I'll only use it sparingly, because I want my story to be as original as possible.

_**Recommendation time!**_ Okay, since my sub-theme of this chapter was slightly different, I thought I'd recommend a story with this type of plot. There are a TON of stories on FanFiction that deal with the whole "going back in time" thing with Naruto, but the one that I have found to be the best – by a WIDE margin – is **Yet Again, With A Little Extra Help by Third Fang**. You want NaruHina? You want time travel? You want original characters? You want different? You want brilliant writing? Then this is your story. I don't know what this guy does for a living, but he clearly missed his calling as a sci-fi/fantasy writer because he's that good. He and Kingkakashi are my two favorite writers on the site, so if you are looking for one of the best stories EVER please go and check it out. It's 77 chapters long and he's already 5 chapters into the sequel. All hail the log and beware the Demon Chicken of Doom!

Here's the link; as always you know what to replace the stars with:

www . Fanfiction . *** / s / 5218118

So now the story moves forward. Next chapter is Naruto going off on the mission and learning several pieces of information. Big battle scene with Ami coming up as well, which I've been working on for a few weeks so I hope everyone likes it.

Keep leaving those reviews, because they help motivate me to write. And the more I get, the faster I push out the next chapter. Just saying.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	11. Promises

**Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend, come inside…It's Chapter 11!**

Here we are at chapter 11, where my ideas really began to churn from the time I took over this story. I'm really excited for the next few chapters, and I've been working hard on them whenever I can. The reviews really helped drive me to create, so thanks to everyone who left them.

Speaking of which, there are several people I'd like to give some creative nods to for parts of this chapter:

**Odinson91**: Thank you for the review; you were the only one who said they wished that the Hikaru/Sasuke conversation from the original story would have been included. It may not be exactly the same, but the first part of this story is just for you. I hope you enjoy it.

**Cobalt Sunfire:** In regards to your PM, you nailed it and basically I completely forgot. I put a small part in this story just to try and explain things going forward like I promised, and you'll know what it is. So thanks for the input.

**Titokhan: **Thanks for the ideas. The first one is pretty much what I already had in mind, but the other two are really good. If I use them in future chapters, you'll get some credit. The water chakra idea rocks and at the very least, I'm pretty sure I'm going to use that.

So what do we have here? We're tying up some loose ends of the story and preparing for things to be revealed. I worked hard to make this chapter not only emotional and heartfelt, but funny as well. Why, you may ask? Because the next chapter will be battle scenes with severe brutality, and I wanted to balance things out a bit.

So, let's get on with the show!

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, but can I have your autograph?**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Sure. I'll just put my John Hancock on that for you.**_

_**Disclaimer – Sorry, It's not John Hancock. It's HERBIE HANCOCK.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Yikes. So, I hear you finally graduated college…and just a shade under a decade, too. Nice job.**_

_**Disclaimer – Shut up. A lot of people go to college for eight years.**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Yeah, I know. They're called doctors. (+1 if you get the reference.)**_

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Chapter 11 – Promises

It was late afternoon and Hikaru was walking down the street to his house, worn out from his day at the academy. Iruka-sensei had put everyone through a series of intense sparring matches in an attempt to gauge their current skill level. He'd fought five matches, losing only the final one and was considered to be among the top students in his class…but he still wasn't the best, and that bothered him. Maybe he could ask Naruto to spend some more time training with him so that he could get better.

At the mention of his name, his thoughts turned to the blond man who had suddenly appeared in his life almost five months ago, completely turning his world upside down. Hikaru had told him once that he wasn't his father and never would be, but that still hadn't deterred Naruto from treating him like he was his own son. Whenever he had time, Naruto would take him out to the training grounds to help him improve his techniques. Naruto listened when he needed someone to talk to, and he constantly asked him questions about his life, both from now and before they met.

He was also completely devoted to his mother, providing support and encouragement no matter what happened. He made every effort to see that she was happy, because he said he loved to see her smile. He would sit hand in hand with her on the back porch, and she would tell him how her day was, how their friends were doing and how her training was coming along. There were also times when she would talk about the last eight years in the village, and Naruto would put his arm around her shoulders and hold her close, as the memories overwhelmed her and she cried in release. Hikaru could tell that Naruto cared about his mother a great deal.

Yes, Naruto had made good on his promise to protect and care for them both. But Hikaru knew very little about the man who would like to be his father, and thought it might be time for him to find out.

He walked into the house, eager to see his mother and talk about tomorrow. It was Saturday, he didn't have classes at the academy and she didn't have a mission to do for the village. The two of them had planned to spend the day together, eating lunch and then going to see the new Princess Gale movie. He'd been looking forward to this all week; however he was surprised to find that his mother wasn't home and Naruto was in the kitchen reading a jutsu scroll.

Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked up. "Hello, Hikaru. How did your sparring sessions go?"

"They were okay. I did good, but I'm still not the best. I need to practice more."

Naruto smiled. It was nice to see that Hikaru was just as serious about training as he was.

"Where's mom?"

"She got called away on an emergency mission this morning. It was for some noble who specifically requested a ninja with diplomatic experience, so she'll be away from the village for a couple of days."

He noticed the crestfallen look on Hikaru's face and continued, "She was very sad that she couldn't be here tomorrow, and I know you've been looking forward to it all week. But before she left she asked me to spend the day with you and do whatever the two of you had planned. Would that be okay?"

Hikaru thought about that for a minute. He'd really wanted to spend the day with his mother, but he also understood that the life of a ninja meant that things could change at a moment's notice, and Naruto was offering to make sure his plans weren't ruined because of it.

"Sure, I'd like that."

Naruto looked at him, his eyes beaming in appreciation. "Thank you, Hikaru. Now, how about you go take a shower and change your clothes, and then we can go out and get some dinner. My cooking skills are atrocious, and anything I'd try to whip up would probably put us both in the hospital."

Hikaru smiled and ran up the stairs to comply with the request, thinking that even though he wouldn't be spending time with his mother, maybe things had turned to his advantage. This would be the perfect time to ask Naruto some questions that he couldn't with his mother around.

_Just the two of them talking, man to man. Or maybe like father and son_.

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.

They ended up at Ichiraku Ramen when Naruto suggested that since Hinata wasn't around, they could have an all-out eating contest and not have to deal with the disapproving looks his mother would normally have given them. Hikaru quickly accepted the challenge, eating seventeen bowls of beef ramen before finally admitting defeat. Even though he could have eaten more, Naruto stopped at twenty bowls of miso ramen since he really wasn't interested in rubbing his victory in Hikaru's face. Old man Teuchi watched them leave, grinning ear to ear with his register full of money, since he just sold more ramen to Naruto and Hikaru than he had all day.

After they left, Hikaru asked if they could go to the park for a little while and relax. Eager to continue spending time with Hikaru away from the house, Naruto agreed and they walked the short distance there together in silence. When they reached their destination, both were surprised to find that the park was empty, but Naruto guessed that it was because the new Princess Gale movie was opening tonight, and most of the kids in town had been anxious to see it. This didn't seem to bother Hikaru in the least, and he apparently preferred it this way as he walked straight for the swings and sat down on the first one, while Naruto sat in the swing to his left. For a few minutes the two of them sat quietly, rocking slightly back and forth as they stared at the setting sun.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Hikaru?"

"Can I ask you a question? Something private?"

Naruto wasn't expecting the question. Usually, Hikaru just talked about everyday problems with him, not something private. "You mean, like a secret?"

"Yeah, like a secret. And can you promise not to tell mom?"

Naruto smiled at him. "Sure. I promise not to tell your mom what we talk about. What's on your mind?"

After a few moments Hikaru said, "It's…about my dad. Do…Do you know who he is?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I tried to find out when I first came back to the village, but no one would tell me anything. Your mom got very defensive and angry when I asked her about it, so I promised not to do it again. " He paused and then said, "Why do you ask?"

Hikaru stared into space and said, "Lately I've been thinking a lot about him. Wondering who he was, and what happened to make him leave. I know he's a ninja, and I…I know he's still alive out there somewhere but I just wish I knew more about him. I mean, you've known my mom for a long time, right? She's just so nice and pretty, she always helps out other people and I never hear her say anything bad about anybody. And she's a good ninja besides. I just…can't think of a reason why he would leave her. Or me."

Naruto watched as a tear fell from Hikaru's eye. Apparently, this had been building for a while and he finally trusted Naruto enough to talk with him about it.

"Honestly, I can't think of a reason why he left you guys either. You're a great kid, and I can't imagine anyone not wanting you as their son. And I've known your mom since I was about the same age you are now, maybe a little younger. She's always been the most kind and caring person I've ever met. And I'm ashamed to admit it, but it wasn't until quite a few years later that I noticed how truly beautiful she is." He looked sideways at Hikaru. "Did your mother ever tell you that when we were kids, she used to follow me around the village like a stalker and watch me?"

Hikaru shook his head no.

"When I was young, I didn't have that many friends. Well, none actually. I constantly played pranks on the villagers, just to get them to notice me because I was tired of being ignored, like I wasn't worth their time or effort. But no matter how bad things were for me, I never gave up – and if I failed at something, it just made me want to try harder next time. Your mother liked that; she saw something in me that no one else in the village did. She said it gave her the strength to be better, to keep going when her own family told her she was weak and would be nothing more than a failure." He paused for a moment with a far off look in his eyes before saying, "She even saved my life once."

Hikaru suddenly perked up upon hearing this. "Really? How?"

A small smile graced his lips. "It was during my fight with Pain. He had me pinned down with chakra rods and was going to take me prisoner, when your mom showed up out of nowhere to try and set me free. Thinking she was going to die, she confessed her feelings for me and attacked him head on, but Pain was far too strong. He beat your mom until she was nearly unconscious and then drove a chakra rod through her chest." He looked sideways at Hikaru again. "I thought he'd killed her. I'd never had anyone say something like that to me, and Pain took it away in the space of a heartbeat. That's when I got angry and lost it. I freed myself and eventually beat him, saving your mom and the entire village in the process."

Hikaru watched Naruto as he talked about the fight, noticing that whenever he mentioned his mother the look on his face changed. He'd seen it before and curiosity got the better of him as he suddenly asked, "Do you love my mom?"

Startled, Naruto snapped his head around to stare at Hikaru. "What did you just say?"

"I asked if you love my mom."

His eyes went wide in shock at the offhand way Hikaru asked such sensitive question. "What…I mean, why do you ask?"

"Because you get the same look on your face when you talk about mom that Uncle Neji gets when he talks about Aunt Tenten. I'm not blind, you know. Do you love her or not?"

Naruto knew that if he was anything less than truthful, it would ruin everything he'd worked so hard to build with Hikaru, and if that happened it might be years before he could repair the damage. Honesty would be the best policy right now.

Naruto sighed and said, "Yes, Hikaru. I love your mother very much."

"Then why don't you tell her?"

Naruto gave a quick laugh and said, "It's not that easy."

Hikaru gave him a confused look and said, "Sure it is. I tell my mom I love her all the time. Why can't you?"

His face became sad as Naruto said, "Because Hikaru, she loves your father – whoever that guy is – and not me. If I tell your mom I love her and she doesn't feel the same way about me, what do I do then? It would just make things awkward between us, and I…I don't think I can take that kind of rejection."

Hikaru hopped off the swing and stood in front of Naruto, hands on his hips and a disapproving look on his face. "Are you kidding me? You don't know anything, Mister Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. I may only be eight years old, and you might know more than I do about a lot of things…but I know that my mom has smiled more and been happier in the last four months than I've ever seen in my life. And besides, she married you didn't she? I'm sure my mom could have told you no, she says that to me all the time when I ask for stuff I don't need. So you know what I think?" He pointed a finger at Naruto and said, "I think you're a chicken."

The sad look vanished from his face and Naruto replied in a stern voice, "I'm not afraid of anything, Hikaru. I'm not a chicken."

"Yes, you are! You're a chicken!" And he strutted around in front of Naruto, flapping his elbows and saying, "Brawk brawk! Hi, I'm Naruto! I'm afraid to talk to Hikaru's mom and say I love her! I'm gonna mope around forever because I like being miserable! Brawk brawk!"

Before Naruto could respond, laughter suddenly filled his head as Kurama decided to jump into the conversation.

_**Ha ha ha! That's the funniest thing I've seen in years!**_

_Shove it, Kurama! What the hell do you know?_

_**I know that his impression of you is almost perfect, and the only thing that's missing is the spiky blond hair. But the rest of it is pretty much spot on. Brawk brawk!**_

Clearly enjoying himself, Hikaru continued to dance around in front of him, making very loud chicken sounds and flapping his elbows. His irritation quickly rising and eager to get Hikaru to stop before people came running to find out what was going on, Naruto stood up and shouted, "_Alright, FINE_! I'll tell your mom I love her! Are you happy?"

Hikaru smirked at him. "Almost. When are you gonna tell her?"

Rotten kid. He tried to leave a loophole and Hikaru didn't fall for it. "I'll tell her sometime soon. Okay?"

"Nope. You're gonna tell her the next time you see her. And until you say you will, I'll keep doing the chicken dance!" He placed his hands back on his hips and took a deep breath, ready to strut around the park and start flapping his elbows again…

Defeated, Naruto slumped his shoulders and sat back down on the swing before saying, "Okay, okay. I'll tell your mom I love her the next time I see her. Just stop doing the chicken thing please."

"Sure." A victorious grin spread across Hikaru's face as he sat back down and watched the last remnants of the sun dip below the horizon.

Before long, Naruto decided to break the silence and said, "I'm impressed at how well you manipulated things just now, Hikaru. Where did you learn to do that?"

"From my mom; she's pretty good at it. Don't tell me she never did it to you."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Yeah, she does it to me all the time. But I like to see her happy, and you know what? She's worth it."

Hikaru thought about his mother for a second before he said, "You're right. My mom's absolutely worth it."

.

* * *

.

The next day, Naruto and Hikaru got up early and went out to training ground fifteen to work on his taijutsu, since Iruka said that his technique was sloppy and could use some work. After watching him for a few minutes, Naruto knew right away what the problem was – he was telegraphing his movements to his opponent. He hadn't learned yet that a bigger swing didn't necessarily mean more power, and that compact strikes could not only be quicker but have the same amount of force behind it. This was the same problem Naruto had when he was younger, and it had taken him years of training to break the habit. Thinking that maybe he could speed up the process, after they were done with his taijutsu lesson Naruto proceeded to teach Hikaru the kage bunshin no jutsu, and made him promise that until they knew what level his chakra reserves were, he was NOT to make more than two shadow clones at a time. Furthermore, if he broke that promise Naruto would personally go to the academy and tell his classmates all about him doing the chicken dance.

Under the threat of embarrassment, Hikaru was more than happy to agree to the terms.

Afterwards, they went home to eat breakfast and shower before heading out to go see the new Princess Gale movie. Knowing that quite a few people hadn't had a chance to see it yet, they got to the theater an hour early to make sure they got seats but a line had already formed around the building with parents and children waiting to get in. Luckily enough, they got the last two seats which made Naruto and Hikaru very happy that they hadn't wasted their time standing in line, and their day wasn't ruined by missing the movie.

After the movie ended, the house lights came up and Princess Gale – who was really Princess Koyuki – came out to greet the crowd and thank them for coming. The kids all cheered as she waved at them before going back behind stage.

As they watched her leave, Hikaru look at Naruto and said, "Wow! She's pretty. Was that really Princess Gale?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Yes, it was. I didn't know she was in town to promote the movie as well." He leaned over and said, "I'm a personal friend of hers, you know. Would you like to meet her?"

"You…You really know Princess Gale? Can we really meet her?"

Nodding, Naruto led Hikaru back stage to Princess Koyuki's dressing room. There was already a group of adults and children there hoping to see her, but everyone was being kept away from the door by her personal bodyguard.

As Naruto walked to the front of the crowd, the closest bodyguard moved to stop him and said, "Sorry, pal – this is as far as you go. The Princess isn't meeting with any fans right now."

"I understand, but could you do me a favor? Please tell the Princess that Naruto Uzumaki would like to see her."

The man gave him a stern look and said, "I really don't care who you are. Your name might be Naruto Uzumaki, but unless you're the Hokage you're not getting…"

"Naruto Uzumaki?" A middle aged man wearing an eyepatch walked up in front of the bodyguard and asked, "Did you say your name is Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Yup, that's me."

The man bowed and said, "It's an honor to meet the man who saved our country. My name is Chishima, and I'm the personal assistant for Princess Koyuki. Please come with me, I'm sure the Princess would be overjoyed to see you again." He stepped aside and motioned for them to come forward.

Naruto and Hikaru received more than a few dirty looks as they walked past the bodyguards to follow Chishima around the corner to the dressing room. After knocking politely, he opened the door to find Princess Koyuki sitting in front of her vanity, brushing her hair. When she looked up to see who it was, a smile appeared on her face as she put her brush down before rising from her chair to greet them.

"Hello, Naruto." She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. "It's good to see you again. I haven't seen you since the wedding; do you enjoy being married?"

Blushing in embarrassment, he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Married life is great, thanks. And it's nice to see you again too. How are things in the Land of Spring?"

"Peaceful as always, since you freed us from Dotō all those years ago." She turned her attention to Hikaru and asked, "Who is this?"

"This is Hikaru. You might remember me mentioning him at the wedding. He's Hinata's son."

She knelt down in front of him and said, "Hello Hikaru, I'm Princess Koyuki. It's very nice to meet you."

"Wow! You're even prettier up close. Not as pretty as my mom, but…"

"Hikaru!" Naruto scolded him. "That's very rude. You shouldn't say things like that to people."

Hikaru looked at him in confusion. "Why not? It's true. Since you married my mom, you should know that no one's prettier than her, right?"

Princess Koyuki was trying hard not to laugh as she watched Naruto bury his face in his hands and say, "Yes Hikaru, I agree. No one's prettier than your mom."

Just as Hikaru was about to ask another question, there was a knock on the door and the large bodyguard from before entered the room.

"Excuse me Princess, but there's an ANBU guy out here who says he has a message for Naruto Uzumaki. I told him to go away, but he won't take no for an answer."

Confused, Naruto looked at her and said, "That's odd. Hinata and I usually don't get communications when one of us is out of the village, so this might be important. Could I leave Hikaru with you for a minute while I go see what this is about? I promise I won't be very long."

"No problem, Naruto. I'll keep Hikaru company while you meet with the ANBU messenger."

Nodding in thanks, he followed the bodyguard out of the room and back around the corner. The ANBU was standing in the hallway, waiting for him with the message scroll. Naruto took the scroll and unrolled it, trying to read it quick so that he could get back to the room as soon as possible.

___*:*_

_*:*_

_Naruto, as you read this message it is imperative that you don't react or make any sudden moves to what I'm about to tell you, especially if Hikaru is standing beside you right now. _

_Yesterday, I received a communication from the Pink Flower Village regarding file NBO-773218-G12C, which is the Sakura/Hinata mission. They have called in the marker for payment._

_I had planned to wait until after you had finished your day with Hikaru to send the messenger to get you, however word just reached me that Hinata has completed her mission early and is on her way back to the village, arriving sometime between three to four hours from now. _

_You should know that if you don't meet with me by the time she returns, I'll be forced to send her on this mission, denying you the opportunity to finally learn the truth about Hikaru. To further complicate matters, we've also been informed that the survival rate for this mission is less than fifteen percent, which means the odds of Hinata returning home afterwards are very slim._

_Bring Hikaru to someone who can watch him for a few hours until Hinata gets back. Due to the secrecy surrounding this mission, I have procured one of your three-pronged kunai so that you can use the Hiraishin no Jutsu to appear in my office within thirty minutes._

_The clock is ticking, and I won't even bother to ask if you'll accept the mission. I already know what your answer will be._

_Kakashi_

_*:*_

___*:*_

He quickly rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the messenger. "Tell the Hokage that I'll get to his office as soon as I can. I just have one stop to make before I get there."

The ANBU nodded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, and Naruto quickly walked back to the dressing room to get Hikaru. He opened the door and said, "I'm sorry Hikaru, but there's an emergency and the Hokage needs me in his office immediately. We have to go right now."

"Awww…Can't we stay just a little longer?"

"No, we can't." He looked at Princess Koyuki and said, "I apologize about this Princess, but duty calls. Life of a ninja and all that, you know how it is. We have to be ready at a moment's notice."

She smiled at him. "I understand, Naruto. Please stay safe and remember that you and your family are welcome to visit us anytime."

He smiled back and said, "Thank you. After I get back from this mission, I think I'll take you up on the offer. I might need a vacation when this is all over." And with that, he grabbed Hikaru's collar and dragged him out of the room.

.

* * *

.

Tsunade, legendary Sannin and current head of the Konoha Medical Division, was frustrated beyond belief as she sat in her office. It was the weekend, and she should be home drinking sake and not here, trying to finish her paperwork before it overwhelmed the top of her desk. To make matters worse, Shizune had conveniently forgotten to refill the liquor cabinet in her office, offering her no avenue of escape from the hours of torture that awaited her.

What she wouldn't give for a large, non-paperwork related distraction right now. Anything to save her from the madness.

Kami must have heard her, because at that exact moment Naruto walked into her office with a hurried look on his face and Hikaru in tow.

"Baa-chan, I need a favor. Can you watch Hikaru for a few hours until Hinata gets home? Kakashi-sensei sent me a message that he needs me for an emergency S-rank mission, and I need to get to his office immediately."

"Sure, no problem. I'll keep him company until she gets back to the village. Just make sure you have Kakashi send an ANBU to let her know where Hikaru is, since I'd rather not have a hysterical Hinata on my hands."

"Thanks. I owe you one." Naruto turned and said, "I'm sorry about this, Hikaru. I know we planned on spending the day together, but this mission is very important and the Hokage specifically asked for my help."

Hikaru looked at him with pleading eyes. "Is it really that important? Is it more important than me?"

Naruto knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hikaru, please remember that nothing will ever be more important to me than you and your mother. But if I don't go on this mission, people will die. People that are very important and precious to me. Would you want me to break my word and choose your happiness over their lives?"

Hikaru shook his head. "No, I don't want that. You told me you always protect your precious people, and you don't go back on your word." After a moment, he jumped on Naruto and hugged him. "You better not forget your promise to me. When you get back, make sure you talk to my mom and tell her. It'll make her happy, I know it."

Naruto could feel the small body shaking as he hugged him back. "I won't forget. When I get back I'll talk to your mom. I promise." He stood up and looked at Tsunade and said, "Thanks again, Baa-chan. I'll be back as soon as I can." And he disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

The room was silent as Hikaru stared at the spot Naruto had been occupying just moments before. Tsunade looked at Hikaru with curiosity, since he had just shown more emotion towards her grandson than she had ever witnessed before. Something had changed for the better between the two of them, and it was very encouraging to see.

After a minute or so, a small voice broke the silence and asked, "Why does he call you Baa-chan?"

"What was that?"

Hikaru turned around to look at Tsunade, and right away she noticed the look in his eyes. He was lost and afraid, more than likely about Naruto not coming back from the mission he just left for. But there was something else in his gaze that she couldn't identify.

"I asked why Naruto calls you Baa-chan. You used to be the Hokage, and you're one of those Sannin people, right? Everyone else calls you by your name, except him. And Iruka-sensei told me that he called you Baa-chan even before you did that adoption thing. So how come he's special?"

Now she recognized the look…it was curiosity. He wanted to know why. "Hasn't anyone ever told you about Naruto? About who he is, and what he's done?"

Embarrassed, Hikaru looked at the ground and dragged his shoe back and forth. "No, not really. I hear people talking sometimes, and I know that some of the villagers are afraid of him, and others just don't care. But all of the older ninja and kunoichi in the village really respect him, and he seems to know a lot of people. We got to meet Princess Gale today because they knew who he was."

He looked up and said, "I never asked anyone about him before, because it wasn't really important to me. But he married my mom and he's taken good care of us even though he didn't have to. He talks to me and trains me. And he makes my mom happy. So I think it's about time I asked."

Tsunade perked up and said, "Well, you came to the right place. With the exception of your mother, I know more about him than anyone else. How about I tell you his story?"

A smile broke out on his face as Hikaru yelled, "All right! Story time!" And he ran over to Tsunade to sit on her lap while she told him the tale.

"Now, the story of Naruto begins a long time ago. My old teammate Jiraiya, who was also one of the legendary Sannin, wrote a book called _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_…"

.

* * *

.

It took sixteen minutes from the time Naruto first received the message until he arrived in the Hokage's office. Once there, Kakashi activated the privacy seals and motioned for Naruto to take a seat.

"Thanks for getting here so quick. I don't think I've ever seen you more enthusiastic about a mission in my life."

"I just want to get the hell out of the village before Hinata shows up. Tell me what I need to know so that I can be on my way."

"Right. Take a look at this." He took the message out and tossed it at Naruto. "We received this yesterday by messenger hawk. It's a request from Lady Shizuka, the leader of…"

"Nadeshiko Village, otherwise known as the Pink Flower, located on an island in Water Country. Ruled by Lady Shizuka, five feet four inches tall, black hair with green eyes. Proficient in water type ninjustu as well as many forms of taijutsu."

Kakashi looked at him, his lone eye wide in shock. "How do you know so much about her, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from studying the scroll and said, "Pervy-sage and I visited the village a long time ago when I went on that three year training mission with him. Their village law states that only a kunoichi can rule, and when they come of age they'll challenge male ninja to a duel, to determine if they're worthy enough to marry them and be a father to their children. It's basically survival of the fittest; the strong live as subservient husbands while the weak are eradicated from their society."

"I think I was fourteen at the time, and Shizuka challenged me to a fight, which ended in a draw. Afterwards, even though I was young she deemed me worthy enough to marry her but I refused. I told her the reason was because I loved Sakura, and I'd promised that I wouldn't give up trying to win her heart." A smirk graced his lips as he said, "It's actually pretty ironic, considering everything that happened between us years later."

Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "Well apparently, that's the village where Tsunade sent Sakura and Hinata. It's recently been taken over by someone named Ami no Shirokusa. She included a photo; you should take a look." And he handed the picture over to Naruto.

He looked at it and his eyebrows went up. "This Ami is definitely…impressive." He looked back down at the scroll and said, "And if I'm reading this right, deadly as well." As he continued to scan the document, his eyes suddenly went wide. "Kakashi-sensei, this says that she specifically requested two jōnin level kunoichi! How can you rationalize sending me instead?"

Kakashi eye smiled at him and said, "It's actually very simple, Naruto. All the other jōnin level kunoichi are indisposed at the moment, so I'm sending my strongest ninja in their stead."

Naruto thought about that for a moment before he narrowed his eyes and said, "Wait a minute. You said you received this yesterday by messenger hawk. Did you get this before you sent Hinata on that mission?"

"For the sake of argument, let's say I didn't and move on. Agreed?"

So Kakashi had purposely sent Hinata on that mission yesterday, not only allowing him to send Naruto, but making sure that Hinata wouldn't be forced to go on what was essentially a suicide mission. Score one for trust and blind faith.

"Besides, you have a certain – let's say, special technique – that allows you to pass yourself off as a kunoichi if you need to. So the client will get what she wants and so will you. Everyone walks away a winner."

After a moment of confusion, Naruto realized what he was implying. "You've got to be kidding me! You purposely want me to use the Sexy no Jutsu on a village mission? I haven't used that technique in years!"

"It makes perfect sense, Naruto. Unlike most people who can only perform a henge or regular transformation, your jutsu is a true transformation where you can take a hit and still maintain the technique throughout a fight with a high level opponent. Also, I can easily make the argument that you're single handedly stronger than any two ninja or kunoichi I have, and with Kurama's chakra now at your disposal, the odds of completing this mission rise from less than fifteen percent to ninety six percent."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Only ninety six percent?"

Kakashi eye smiled at him again and said, "Well, since you won't tell me anything about the forbidden jutsu you've been taught, I have to go with the data we have available."

"Nice try, Kakashi-sensei…But you know that goading me into giving you that information won't work."

"It was worth a shot. Anyway, your mission is as follows – I want you leave here and go straight to your house using the Hiraishin no Jutsu since I don't want anyone to see you exiting this office. Pack and leave from there, once outside the gates head due south for five hours first. I know that water country is east of here, but Hinata is coming from that direction and I don't want you running into her by accident. When you get to your destination, explain the situation to Lady Shizuka and ask for the mission file for verification. Once you've done that, you are to eliminate – NOT capture – Ami no Shirokusa in whatever manner you see fit and then immediately return to the village. Since this is a covert operation, leave anything that bears the Hidden Leaf symbol at home. And remember that there will be no payment for successful completion of this mission, since the reciprocity agreement was already in place."

Kakashi gave him a last hard look. "I've made good on my promise and given you the opportunity to learn the truth, Naruto. The answers you're looking for lie at the coordinates listed on that scroll. Now get going and good luck."

Nodding, Naruto rolled up the scroll before disappearing from his sight.

Kakashi looked at the spot Naruto had just vacated and thought, _I'm willing to bet my sharingan that whatever answer he finds in Nadeshiko village, he's not to be happy about it. This isn't going to end well for someone, and I hope to Kami it isn't Naruto. _

.

* * *

.

The trip to Water Country normally would have taken six days. Kakashi had waited one day to give him the message, so that left him with five days to reach the village. Naruto made it there in three.

He arrived on the outskirts of Nadeshiko Village close to midnight, very hungry and tired. Even though a nice meal and soft bed at one of the local inns would be ideal, he decided to keep a low profile and not risk being seen by any of the local security that Ami more than likely had patrolling the streets of the village.

He also thought about pressing on to where Lady Shizuka was hiding, but he dismissed that idea as well. With it being so late, she would probably assume that anyone who approached the cabin at this hour was an enemy, and attack that person without provocation. The best option for tonight would be to camp out in the branch of a tree and try and get some rest.

The only problem with that was Naruto couldn't sleep. His mind was racing nonstop, thinking about what the contents of the mission file might be. Tomorrow would be the day he finally learned the truth behind the secret that Sakura and Hinata had been keeping from him, and he wondered if he would even like what he was going to find.

For about fifteen minutes he watched the overcast sky, while he fidgeted on the tree branch trying to get comfortable. It wasn't long after that Kurama decided to have a conversation with him.

_**I know what's troubling you Naruto, and you'll only make things worse by creating false conclusions to this story. Has everything that's happened in the last eight years changed your way of thinking so much that you automatically assume the worst no matter what?**_

_It's a hard habit to break sometimes, Kurama. I mean, in what scenario can all this possibly turn out good? Tomorrow, I'll learn the name of the asshole that Hinata not only still loves, but also left her and Hikaru to fend for themselves. All I can think about right now is how happy it would make me to find that piece of shit and make him suffer for what he did. _

_**I believe the scenario where this turns out well is the one where you remember what the kit told you a few days ago in the park. He may be young, but his words had strength and truth behind them. It's apparent that her feelings for you are substantial.**_

_But she loved this guy enough to have his child, Kurama. How can I compete with that?_

_**I would say do you really need to? Consider this; you love both your one true mate and the one who adopted you. The type of love you have for both may be different, but you hold a great amount for each one of them. Couldn't this logic be applied to how your one true mate views both you and the kit's sire?**_

_Maybe. But it doesn't change the fact that I wish she could love me more than him._

_**Who says she doesn't? You're making assumptions again. **_

Naruto sighed. _Alright, you win. But I still don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm too close to my goal to think about anything else._

_**Then perhaps you need a change of scenery. Join me in your mind, Naruto.**_

Naruto closed his eyes and entered his mindscape for the first time since he'd set Kurama free. Kurama was once again lying beneath a tree, his head resting on his front paws while stars illuminated the sky overhead, twinkling occasionally.

_**Come rest with me, Naruto. In here, you cannot see the village. You cannot feel the presence of the cabin where your answer lies. And you can escape from the whirlwind of your thoughts for the night.**_

Naruto walked up to Kurama and sat beside him, resting his back against the tree. He clasped his hands in front of his chest and closed his eyes, and he felt the tension leave his body as the tranquil surroundings lulled him into a blissful sleep.

.

* * *

.

The next morning, Naruto awoke feeling refreshed and ready for whatever answer the day would bring him. He performed a quick stretch to work the kinks out of his back and legs before making his way to the cabin. After arriving, he couldn't help but think it might be best to play it safe when announcing his presence, so he created a kage bunshin and had it walk up and knock on the door.

"Lady Shizuka? I'm here as payment for…"

That was as far as the shadow clone got before a voice inside the cabin cried out, "Water Style: Rising Water Slicer!" The front door shattered outwards as a jet of water sliced through the door and the clone, destroying both before dissipating after ten yards or so. Shizuka emerged soon afterwards, a katana in her hands as she stood ready to defend her life.

_Well, she's certainly gotten more powerful. Convincing her that I'm here to help might not be as easy as I thought. _

From his hiding place in the forest he shouted, "Shizuka! It's me, Naruto Uzumaki! I'm here as payment for the marker you called!"

"Like hell you are! I asked for kunoichi to come help me as payment. Either leave or face death at my hands!"

Naruto sighed. "Look, I can prove that I'm who I say I am. I'm coming out with my hands raised in plain view. No tricks, I promise. Just don't attack, okay?"

He slowly walked out of the forest, hands held high. "See? I'm not here to fight you. Now ask me a question that only I would know the answer to, so that I can prove I'm the real deal and here to help you."

Shizuka narrowed her eyes as she looked at him and said, "The last time I saw Naruto Uzumaki, he was with his teacher…"

"…Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin."

"I challenged him to a duel and we fought to a draw. I asked him to marry me and he…"

"…Refused, because I told you that I loved my teammate Sakura Haruno and even though she didn't love me, I wasn't going to give up trying to win her heart."

After a few moments she smiled, sheathing her katana before walking over to greet him with a hug. "It's good to see you again, Naruto. You've certainly grown since the last time I saw you, and become much more handsome as well. I only wish our reunion could be under better circumstances."

He hugged her back and said, 'It's good to see you again too. Can we go inside? Being out in the open like this makes us too easy of a target."

"Oh! Of course. Please, come in!" And she led him inside the cabin to talk. Naruto noticed that it was sparsely appointed, the only furniture being a table with four chairs, a couch, a small dresser and a bed.

They both sat down at the table and Shizuna asked, "So, can you tell me why they sent you and not the kunoichi that I requested? Not that I'm ungrateful mind you, but it's just that you're not what I was expecting."

"Sure, but let me take care of the front door before we start." He created a kage bunshin who walked over to stand in the threshold before transforming into a door, hiding them from view.

Shizuka looked at him, impressed. "Nice trick. I hope you have something else up your sleeve, because that's not going to be anywhere near enough to take down Ami."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered." He leaned back in his chair and said, "Now to answer your question, the village sent me for two reasons. First of all, when your message arrived they didn't have two jōnin level kunoichi available that they could send. And second, since you suggested that this was practically a suicide mission they decided to send their strongest ninja – that would be me – since there's no chance I'll lose this fight."

Her eyes went wide and she said, "Have you gone insane? You have no idea what you're up against. Ami no Shirokusa took down my personal bodyguard – that's four chūnin and two jōnin level ninja – without breaking a sweat. And if you've read my message, you know that she's fast, strong and knows a jutsu that makes her skin practically impervious to weapons. Besides, you're forgetting that this fight needs to be done between two kunoichi, which you obviously are not!"

Naruto grinned and said, "Trust me; I'm actually much stronger than I look. This Ami person might be tough, but it's nothing that I can't handle. And as far as not being a kunoichi, that won't be a problem either."

"Want to share how that's even possible? I hope you're not thinking of using a henge, because one hit from her and you'll be exposed."

"I actually know a variation of the transformation jutsu, where I'm able to perform the technique so that it's not merely an illusion, but rather a true transformation. That's how I was able to turn my shadow clone into a door just now. And since the transformation is the real thing, I won't have to worry about changing back if I get hit. I'll stay that way until I dispel the technique."

Shizuka raised her eyebrows. "That's very impressive, and it actually solves the problem of you not being a kunoichi. Are you sure there aren't any limitations associated with it?"

Embarrassed, he placed a hand at the back of his head and said, "Not a limitation really, more like an…incompletion. You see, I can only transform into a naked kunoichi. I used it quite a bit when I was young against older and stronger opponents. It was basically a failsafe if things ever got too desperate, and since the goal was to make them pass out, making clothes or weapons defeated the purpose of even having the jutsu in the first place."

"So you need clothes and weapons? That's not a big deal. I can lend you some of mine."

"Thanks. That's not really an item you typically pack when you leave for a mission, and I didn't really think about the fact that I was going to need a kunoichi outfit until I was almost here. And while you're at it, could I see the mission file? I was told to verify the information before my village provided repayment."

The color drained from her face as she looked at him and said, "Umm…That's going to be a problem. I can't do it."

"What was that?"

"I said I can't show you the file because I had to leave it behind in my office when I fled the village. Ami didn't really give me a lot of time to grab anything when she decided to hunt me down and try to kill me. But I'm positive it's still there, and I can show it to you as soon as you're done."

Naruto could feel the anger rising within him. He was supposed to get the information BEFORE he completed the mission, not the other way around. His tone became hard as he said, "You're lucky I know you Shizuka, because if you were anyone else, I'd be gone right now. Give me the best outfit you have, and don't bother with the weapons. From what you've said, they won't make a difference anyway."

She could tell he wasn't happy with the fact that she didn't have the file, and she couldn't blame him since he was the one putting his life on the line without proof. It would probably be best not to push her luck with Naruto right now, so she quietly nodded and walked over to the dresser, grabbing her best combat uniform out of the top drawer.

He took the clothes that she offered him and said, "Now just stand there for a minute with your arms at your sides and don't move. In order to make sure these clothes fit, I need to use your body as a reference point for my jutsu. I'll do a few transformations to make sure I've got it right, but once I do we're leaving."

Shizuka stood rigid while Naruto slowly walked around her, studying her form. "Why the rush? Wouldn't it be better to wait for nightfall?"

He came back around to her front, and the look from his cobalt blue eyes sent a shiver down her spine. "There's no way I'm waiting that long to complete this mission. I was ordered to eliminate Ami no Shirokusa using any method I choose, but if she pisses me off I'll kill her in the most brutal manner possible. And after I drag her cold, lifeless carcass back to your office, you'll honor your agreement to Konoha and give me that file."

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* * *

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Half a continent away, a meeting of another sort was about to begin, as Hinata was on her way to the tea house to meet with her fellow kunoichi. Things had improved since Sakura decided to change her less than sociable attitude for the better, and now everyone was meeting once a month – missions permitting – to discuss things that were happening in the village as well as in each other's lives.

As she entered the establishment, she noticed that Sakura was already there looking tired and miserable. However, when Hinata walked up a forced smile appeared on her face as she attempted to hide her discomfort.

Hinata smiled and said, "I'm sure everyone will appreciate the effort, but the look on your face isn't going to fool anyone, Sakura. Why don't you just drop the act and be yourself? You have a legitimate excuse to be irritable, after all."

The smile vanished from her face and she put her hands on the small of her back. "I appreciate that, but I'd rather not be a total psycho in front of my friends. I have three months left to go, and I'm positive this baby will be the death of me – or maybe Sasuke – whichever comes first."

Hinata laughed and sat down beside her. "Would you mind if I…"

"No, of course not. You don't even have to ask."

As Hinata placed her hand on Sakura's stomach, a wistful look of happiness came over her face. Sakura noticed it and asked, "Have you and Naruto discussed giving Hikaru a little brother or sister?"

The look vanished from her face as she said, "No, we haven't. Between missions, training, dealing with Hikaru and Hokage instruction with Kakashi, there just hasn't been any time to talk about it."

"How about late at night after Hikaru goes to sleep?"

Hinata blushed. "Well, we usually don't have time to discuss…"

"Discuss what?"

Both of them looked up to see Ino, who had just arrived at their table. "So, what juicy gossip did I miss?"

Sakura said, "We were just discussing Hinata and Naruto expanding their family, that's all. By the way, where's Tenten? She should have been here by now."

Ino smirked and said, "My guess is that she got held up by Neji. After all, they ARE trying to have children and from the smile I've seen on her face lately, I'd say she's enjoying the extra attention she's been getting."

As if on cue, Tenten walked up to the table. "Sorry for being late, I got a little…sidetracked on my way here."

Ino gave everyone a gloating smile and said, "Told ya. So, Neji's been paying special attention to you lately. Having a good time?"

Tenten smiled mischievously and said, "I can't complain. So, what were you guys talking about before I showed up?"

"Just Hinata and Naruto, and all the fun they SHOULD be having, just like you. Speaking of the knucklehead, I haven't seen him around for the last few days. Where is he?"

Hinata said, "Kakashi-sensei sent him on an S-rank mission four days ago. It must have been very important, because he left Hikaru with Lady Tsunade and was gone before I returned to the village."

Sakura looked at her and asked, "That's it? You didn't hear anything else?"

"Well, I was able to get some information out of Hikaru, but it wasn't very much. The only thing he could tell me was that Naruto-kun said Kakashi-sensei specifically requested him, and that if he didn't go on the mission, people who are precious to him would die." A worried look came across her face as she said, "I think he's on a covert mission somewhere, and that's why I haven't felt him."

Upon hearing that last statement, a look of confusion came across their faces and Ino asked, "What do you mean, 'felt' him?"

Hinata silently cursed herself. She had tried to keep the seal a secret, since she didn't want anyone else to know about it. It was a very private, special bond between Naruto and her and she'd just slipped up and revealed it.

Sighing, she held out her hand and pushed some chakra into the seal, making it visible. "Naruto-kun did this the night before we got married. He calls it an amalgamation seal, and he has one just like it. It basically allows us to feel each other's emotions, and he did it so that if he ever senses that I'm hurt or in danger, he can be there in an instant to protect me." She raised her left hand and tapped her wedding ring. "Naruto-kun had a Hiraishin seal carved on the inside of my ring. If you remember the reception, that's how he got across the room so fast to smash the cake in my face."

Ino and Tenten looked at the seal and sighed before Ino said, "That's probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

Sakura on the other hand could only think to herself, _How come Sasuke didn't give me a seal like Hinata got from Naruto? I'll have to have a talk with him when I get home._

Tenten asked, "So how come you can't feel him? Do you think it might be broken?"

"No, if you knew how I got this you'd realize that it can't break. During the first month or so, there was no filter so if we had very strong or powerful emotions, they would come through the seal without our consent. However, over the last few months Naruto-kun has gotten better at controlling what comes through and he can shut it down if he needs to. I still need more practice." She looked at everyone and said, "I'm positive he's alright, but it doesn't stop me from being concerned about him."

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Tenten said, "Well, I'm sure you're right. It would take an army to bring Naruto down, so don't worry about it. And now that I know he's away on a mission, it actually explains a few things about that guy I saw yesterday."

Hinata perked up upon hearing this. "What are you talking about? What guy?"

"I ran into this guy at the market who said he used to work with Naruto. He was wondering where he was, and I told him I hadn't seen him lately because he was probably on a mission or something. He thanked me for the information, smiled and left. He had this weird name, what was it again? Anubis. Yeah, that's right…Anubis."

A sudden feeling of anxiety came over Hinata. The name was too strange for it to be associated with anyone else besides the Mienai Segi and if he was part of the organization, why was he suddenly in the village asking about her husband?

Ino noticed the worried look that came across her face and decided to try and change the subject. "Well Hinata, when I came in you were talking about having more kids. So tell me…how good is Naruto in bed?"

"Ino! I'm not answering that!"

"Oh come on, Hinata. You're among friends here. Why won't you give us any of the juicy details?"

"Because Ino, that's private. And I really don't feel like telling you all about the 'juicy details' – as you so eloquently put it – that happen between Naruto-kun and I every time we get together for three hours."

A hush came over the table, and the three women gave Hinata a shocked look.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Three hours?" Ino raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're telling me that every time you and Naruto have sex, it's for three hours? And you're not counting foreplay?"

Hinata blushed, embarrassed. "Umm, more or less. Sometimes it's longer than that." Confused, she looked at everyone and asked, "Why? Is there something wrong?"

Ino looked at her and said, "Are you kidding? I can barely get an hour or so out of my boyfriend before he quits on me and falls asleep. How about you, Tenten?"

"Neji usually gives out after an hour and a half." Tenten looked at Sakura and asked, "What about Sasuke?"

The upset look on her face spoke volumes as Sakura curtly answered, "About the same as Neji."

It was obvious to everyone that something about the subject was bothering Sakura, but it was Ino who decided to throw caution to the wind and ask the question everyone was thinking. "You've got to be kidding me, Sakura! You dated Naruto all those years ago. Why didn't you ever tell us that he was such a stud?"

Sakura leaked some killing intent as she looked at Ino and said, "Because I didn't know. Now change the subject."

So even though she hadn't said the words out loud, it was apparent to everyone that Naruto hadn't provided Sakura with the same amount of attention that he was giving Hinata. While Ino and Tenten were slightly jealous and happy for their friend, Sakura privately seethed at the revelation that Hinata was getting more from Naruto sexually than he'd ever given her.

And inwardly, Hinata gloated in the knowledge that in at least one area, she was more important to Naruto than Sakura had ever been.

Luckily enough, at that moment their order arrived and everyone commenced to sipping their tea while Ino changed the subject to Sakura's baby which immediately lightened the mood at the table.

While her friends continued to talk, Hinata looked down at her hand and the seal that was now hidden again. Even though she probably wouldn't get a response, she wanted to let Naruto know that she was thinking about him. Concentrating, she reached out to brush his essence with feelings of warmth, concern and longing. A ghost of a smile played across her lips as she thought…

_Come back soon, Naruto-kun. Our home feels empty without you, and I miss you more than words can say._

_._

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_._

A/N: Now, I know there's going to be people that leave a review who will be screaming, "Are you kidding me? You still haven't told anyone who Hikaru's father is? How much longer are you going to make us wait?" Well, I'm here to tell you that I'll be revealing Hikaru's father in the next chapter. I promise. As for when that will happen, it just depends on how much inspiration I get. Wink wink, nudge nudge, know whatahmean?

I would also like to congratulate **Lady R Paine** for her guess on Naruto using the Sexy no Jutsu for the mission. I don't know if anyone else had the same idea, but she left the first review to mention it so kudos to her.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the story, next chapter will be the big battle scene between Naruto and Ami, and I promise I'll work hard to make it good, complex and a particularly brutal death at the end. Why? Because Naruto is the Alpha Male, and he needs to stretch his Mienai Segi legs a bit. Why go out of your way to create something as cool as an organization as the Mienai Segi and then never use it? Because you wouldn't, that's why. And I'm going to make it a major part of the plot in the future.

**_Recommendation time!_** I originally wasn't going to make a recommendation this chapter since my last one was good enough for a while, but I thought I'd do another one and then lay off for a bit. Since we're dealing with an extra story addition with me - a.k.a. the Mienai Segi - I thought I'd recommend another story that adds a little flavor in the same way. If you get the chance, check out **Beyond an Heiress' Purpose by weirdismyname.** The story takes a different track on how Hinata turned out. She's not a ninja, she's a priestess but the story is still great. I want to give people the heads-up that the author is from the Philippines, so the English and grammar might not be perfect but cut her some slack. I think she's doing a hell of a job with the writing and leave a review if you like it. She'll appreciate it just as much as I do and maybe she'll push out those chapters faster because of it. Yay!

Here's the link; as always you know what to replace the stars with:

www . fanfiction . *** / s / 8549244 / 1

So we are now at the precipice, teetering over the edge of the story. As I said, next chapter is the big battle scene and the Hikaru reveal. And Naruto will talk to Hinata and tell her he loves her. But what will Hinata say back? Will there be another lemon scene? And what will Hikaru think when he finds out who his father is? These answers and more when we return.

I hope everyone liked this chapter, and if you did please leave a review. They motivate me much better than caffeine or red vines.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

.

Serious Sam


	12. Secrets Revealed

**No one knows the secret hidden, past the shadows in my eyes. There it stays, a heavy burden. Here my fear forever lies.**

**Someday the world will know my secret, my fears and dreams set free. It cannot hide away forever, or change my destiny.**

**But for now I'll keep it silent, a whisper deep inside. Waiting to reveal itself, until that time I'll bide. (Poetry by Lydia Clark)**

Ta da! Here we are at Chapter 12, where I envisioned myself when I took this story over way back in June. I had so many ideas as to where I wanted to take this plot, and even though they began in the last chapter, things really start to pick up the pace here.

I'm actually amazed that with this chapter, I've hit a milestone of having over 100,000 words written (which is the biggest filter setting for FanFiction). I remember when I released the first two chapters and I had less than 100 followers and favorites combined, and I'm far beyond that now. My next goal will be 1,000 reviews and over 1,000 followers. If you're gonna dream, then dream big I always say!

Once again, I also want to thank my anonymous beta for his continued help and support.

Now, I know there were a few readers that wanted another lemon – and you'll eventually get one, don't worry – but I decided to go another route for a little while. So no lemon right now, sorry – it will probably happen in about 5 chapters or so.

But I **DO** want to warn everyone that the first part of this story – which is the battle between Naruto and Ami no Shirokusa – is rather harsh because he goes all Mienai Segi Alpha Male on her ass, and **some of the tactics I used are rather brutal**. It's how I thought the fight should be from when I first started writing this fic and I wrote it this way on purpose. And once again, I want to thank fellow author **TheGreatHibiki** for the use of the character Ami no Shirokusa.

So what do we have to see here? The battle and the big reveal, of course! It's what everyone has been demanding/asking/yelling about since chapter one. I think I broke a personal record with the amount of reviews that people left for me with the last chapter, and now that I'm revealing the **first** big secret, I think my readers can help me top that.

Read on, my fellow Naruto enthusiasts and enjoy. I'll see you at the end of the chapter.

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, but I'd like to. How about we play rock-paper-scissors and whoever wins owns the rights?**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Ooh, I don't think so. No, anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of rock-paper-scissors, players familiar with each other will tie 75 to 80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.**_

_**Disclaimer – What? How do you play that?**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – It's very simple. Look, scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes scissors. Scissors decapitates lizard. Lizard eats paper. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. And as it always has…rock crushes scissors.**_

_**Disclaimer – Okay, I think I got it. **_

_**TOGETHER – Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock!**_

_**Masashi Kishimoto – Yes! Lizard poisons Spock! I win! (+1 if you get the reference.)**_

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Chapter 12 – Secrets Revealed

The forest was unusually still as they walked along. Not one animal scurried in front of their path, no breeze danced through the trees to make the leaves rustle, no birds sang or chirped in the distance. The air was thick with tension, while nature itself seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation of the upcoming battle.

Even though the distance to the village was only a few miles, time seemed to slow down as Naruto and Shizuka made their way back. His heart was pounding in his chest, anxious to begin the fight but his mind overrode that emotion, reasoning that being calm and observant would be a far better strategy than charging in blindly and running the risk of others getting hurt. It was the great general Sun Tzu who said, _if you are ignorant of your enemy, you are certain to be in peril._

No words had been spoken between them since they left the cabin. Shizuka mistook his silence for indecision about whether or not to actually fight Ami no Shirokusa, and decided not to say anything that might cause Naruto to change his mind. However, that thought couldn't be further from the truth since there was nothing that could keep Naruto from fighting this battle and getting the information in the file.

_**I'm impressed that you haven't started running towards Nadeshiko village yet, Naruto. Attempting to ensure the battle between Ami and yourself doesn't catch innocent lives in the crossfire is very commendable on your part.**_

_Well, pervy-sage always told me that discretion is the better part of valor. It's funny that as I get older, I realize how more often than not he actually knew what he was talking about. _

_**That's how it usually works – with age comes wisdom. Maybe the time you've spent with your mate and her kit has matured you a bit.**_

_It's as good a theory as anything else I've heard. Any thoughts on what might be waiting for us in the village?_

_**Ami no Shirokusa sounds very similar to other humans I've observed over the years. They rely on brute force to intimidate others around them, not bothering to expand their skills to other areas. My guess is that since her main attributes are size, strength and speed, she is highly proficient in taijutsu. She probably believes that other skills, such as ninjutsu and kenjutsu are a waste of time and will only learn new techniques when they can supplement and enhance her taijutsu. **_

_That's actually pretty good reasoning, Kurama. If you had to guess, how many other jutsu do you think she knows?_

_**I'd say probably six or less. However, I'm almost certain that the jutsu she knows are A-rank and above, and quite deadly.**_

_Thanks for reminding me. So, do you think for the first few minutes you could pump some chakra into my limbs and boost my speed? I don't want to use sage mode unless I really have to._

There was a pause before Kurama answered. _**You know that you don't have to ask anymore, Naruto. You have access to my chakra to use at your discretion whenever you wish.**_

_That doesn't make a difference to me, Kurama. Even though I don't have to ask you, it doesn't mean that I shouldn't. You and your opinions still important to me, and I'm asking for your help because I want to, not because I need to._

Another pause. _**Thank you, Naruto. Once again, you've proven to me that my decision regarding you was the correct one. I appreciate the fact that you are still interested in what I have to offer.**_

_Don't mention it. Now, how about that chakra boost?_

_**That won't be a problem. I'll also keep you in a constant state of accelerated healing, since I'll bet my whiskers that Ami will get in one good punch before things really get started, and with her strength and speed your body is going to take a severe beating.**_

_Are you trying to talk me out of this fight?_

_**No, merely speaking the truth. While we're at it, you might want to refrain from using any signature jutsu that could easily be identified. The Hiraishin no Jutsu is too widely known from your sire, as is the Rasengan. Elemental jutsu should be fine, but hidden and forbidden jutsu should be off limits.**_

_The thought had actually already crossed my mind. I'm thinking it would probably be best to stick to mostly taijutsu and match her move for move, only using elemental jutsu when I have to. And I agree with you about the Rasengan, but how about if I condense the chakra and make it smaller? That way I can hide it in the palm of my hand so that other people won't see it. _

_**That may actually work, but I'd still use it sparingly if you can. You don't want to run the risk of someone tracing it back to you and the Hidden Leaf, because that might create more trouble than you would like.**_

They turned a corner and suddenly the forest ended, and the village was in front of them. Naruto turned to Shizuka and said, "Okay, this is where we part ways. You stay hidden in the outskirts of the village, and no matter what happens you are NOT to enter the battle and try to help. Your job is to keep everyone from being caught in the crossfire between Ami and myself, because I'm not going to have time to save them AND take her down as well. Understand?"

Shizuka nodded. "Ami is probably in the center of the village right now; its high noon and she typically doles out punishment for those who she believes have broken her laws at this time. You might save some lives if you hurry there and stop her." She leaned forward to hug him. "Good luck, Naruto. And thank you."

He nodded before turning around and sprinting towards the village square. Once there, he saw a large crowd gathered around a gallows at the center, where Ami no Shirokusa had three men lined up apparently to be summarily executed. Based on the looks he saw on the villagers' faces, this appeared to be a daily occurrence.

In a booming voice, Ami addressed the crowd. "Tsurangi, Kusabi and Sanazami. The three of you were seen walking through the village without a kunoichi escort, in clear violation of our laws. How do the accused plead?"

Tears streamed from Tsurangi's eyes and he blurted, "I…I'm sorry! I needed to get to the market and my wife hadn't come home yet to escort me there! We had no food for the night, and I didn't want our children to go hungry! Please, have mercy!"

An evil grin appeared on Ami's face and she said, "That sounds like a confession to me. How about you two? Anything to say?"

Kusabi and Sanazami stood silent, not wanting to give Ami the satisfaction of twisting their words into what she believed was an admission of guilt. Knowing they were going to die no matter what, they stood firm against what they believed was their fate. However, before Ami could pass judgment a voice rang out…

"Hey! How about you let the men go before I kick your ass?"

The grin vanished from Ami's face and many of the people in the crowd blanched at her look.

"Who the fuck said that?"

"Me." The crowd parted and Naruto – in his kunoichi form – walked to the front. "I said let the men go before I kick your ass."

Ami stared down at Naruto in disbelief for a moment before throwing her head back and laughing. "Ha ha ha! That's pretty damn funny. Whoever you are, you got a lot of guts to say that to me. What's your name, girl?"

"My name's not important. But why I'm here is."

Ami sneered and jumped down from the gallows to stand in front of Naruto. "And just why **are** you here, shrimp? Lost and can't find your way home?"

A slight smile played across his lips as Naruto pushed out some killing intent and said, "Not even close. I'm here to kill you…BITCH."

The sneer on Ami's face vanished before being replaced by an angry snarl. "Fuck you." And her fist lashed out quicker than he would have thought possible, catching Naruto in the jaw and throwing him back twenty or so yards.

As soon as this happened, from somewhere behind the buildings on the edge of the village a voice rang out, "EVERYONE, RUN! IF YOU STAY OUT IN THE OPEN, YOU'LL DIE! GET TO YOUR HOMES AND LOCK YOURSELVES INSIDE, NOW!"

The crowd scattered, quickly emptying the square and giving them plenty of room for the upcoming battle. The only ones left behind were the three men still on the gallows, their lives literally hanging in the balance as they watched the scene unfold in front of them, hoping that someone would set them free before the fight got out of hand.

Naruto did a back flip and landed on his feet before skidding to a stop. The blow had broken his jaw, and he held it in place so that Kurama could put it back together.

_Nice guess. She got in one good hit like you said she would. I just wish it wasn't my jaw because that fucking hurt._

_**Well, you were the one who goaded her into it. Was that what you were trying to do in the first place?**_

_Yeah. First rule of combat is an angry enemy is an unbalanced enemy. She'll make mistakes if I push her over the edge. For now, just keep healing me and pushing some chakra out to my arms and legs._

The bones quickly reset themselves and Naruto stood back up, wiggling his jaw to test it out. Satisfied, he walked back towards her and said, "Not bad. You're faster than I gave you credit for. But you know what? SO AM I." And he disappeared from view before reappearing in front of Ami, driving his fist upwards into her stomach and launching her body into the air. She landed some thirty yards away on her back with a loud thud.

Naruto put his hands on his hips and said, "If that's all you got, I'm not impressed. And by the way…_**you hit like a man**_."

Ami gathered herself and stood, releasing a large amount of killing intent as her face contorted with rage. "You just crossed the line, you little skank. You wanna dance? FINE! Let's dance!" She flashed through a few hand signs and said, "Earth style: Iron Skin Technique!"

Naruto matched her level of killing intent as he felt her chakra rise, while her skin became noticeably darker, spreading from her hands to the rest of her body. He had seen this jutsu once before during his time with the Mienai Segi. The technique was weak against lightning based attacks or the Fūton: Rasen Shuriken, but the problem he had right now was he didn't have an elemental affinity for lightning and the Fūton: Rasen Shuriken might be recognized if he did it.

Ami ran towards him at incredible speed, throwing several quick punches at his eyes and kidneys. Naruto blocked them all before leaping over her, twisting in the air and delivering a kick to the back of her neck as she ran under him. It drove her forward into the dirt, before she quickly flipped back up on her feet. Naruto stood about twenty five feet away, glaring at her and waiting for the next attack.

An evil growl came from her throat as Ami came at him and lashed out at his legs this time, in an effort to hobble his ability to move. Naruto jumped over her leg sweep, but her arm came up over her head and grabbed his shirt. She spun and threw him over her shoulder, slamming him back into the ground and forcing the air out of his lungs. He grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in her face, momentarily blinding her as he scrambled to his feet and tried to catch his breath.

She finished wiping the dirt her eyes and looked at Naruto. "That was a pretty childish tactic. I thought ninja followed a code of ethics and honor."

Naruto smirked and said, "Only if the other party knows what that is. And I'm guessing you don't."

Ami spread her hands out in front of her and walked around Naruto slowly, like a cat stalking its prey, waiting for the perfect time to pounce and rip his throat out. Naruto mirrored her movements, still wary of her strength and determined to keep a good amount of distance between them so that he could react in time. Before he knew it, she had thrown a kunai at his chest and when he dodged to the side to avoid it, she was there. Grabbing his wrist, she pulled his arm forward and brought her elbow down hard, shattering his forearm.

Pain shot through him as he drove a kick into her side, separating them so that he could give Kurama some time to mend the bone.

_Make it quick, Kurama. I can't fight very well or do jutsu with just one hand. _

_**I'm trying, but it's going to take a few moments. I can't mend your body in an instant unless you power up beyond four tails and you know we can't do that right now. **_

Ami grinned at him and said, "I bet that hurt. You just lost an arm, so no more jutsu for you. Still think you can take me down?"

Naruto extended his arm, grimacing in pain before Ami heard a loud, sickening pop. After a moment, he flexed his fingers and said, "My arm is just fine, thanks. And yes, I still think I can take you down, you overgrown ape."

She yelled and ran at him, slamming into his body and driving him into the earth. A wrestling match between the two ensued, each of them attempting to gain the upper hand. Thumbs were stabbed at eyes; knees were driven into kidneys and stomachs. After a few moments, Naruto realized that submission hold tactics would be useless, so he got his legs up underneath her and managed to flip her over his body before scrambling back up. Just as she got back on her feet, he appeared in front of her and performed a vicious roundhouse kick to her jaw, hoping to do some damage.

The blow made a cracking noise at it landed; however Naruto wasn't sure if it was from her jaw or his foot. Because of the Iron Skin Technique, her defensive capabilities had increased so much that it was like kicking a steel door. He put both feet against her and pushed off, putting some distance between them again.

_This is pissing me off, Kurama! The last time I faced off against an opponent that used this technique, I took him down using the Fūton: Rasen Shuriken, but I can't use that without people knowing who I am. And I don't have an affinity for lightning. You have any ideas?_

_**Very few. Obviously, outside attacks are useless. Unless you know of a way to drill through her skin, you'll have to take another route to find a way to get inside. That leaves approximately six entry points into her body, such as the eyes, ears and mouth…**_

He thought about that for a second. _Kurama, I've got an idea. I just need you to concentrate on healing me, nothing else. I'm going to use sage mode to augment my strength from here on out. Okay?_

_**No problem, Naruto. Just make it fast, because I doubt Ami is going to give you enough time to complete your plan. **_

_Right._ He crossed his fingers in front of him and yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four shadow clones appeared in a cloud of smoke and ran towards the far corners of the square, their only purpose at the moment being to gather natural energy for him to enter sage mode.

Ami rubbed her jaw and smiled. "That kick hurt about as much as a mosquito bite. You still don't get it, do you? When I've got this jutsu going, you can't hurt me. All you're doing is dragging this out, because when I get my hands on you, I'll rip your head off and mount it on a pole in front of the gallows. That way everyone else will know what's in store if they defy me."

Naruto continued to keep his distance, trying to give his clones enough time to enter sage mode. In order to keep her from attacking as long as possible, he decided to demean her in the hope that it she'd get angry enough to charge in and make a big mistake.

"You know what? You may be the most incompetent leader I've ever seen. Have you ever had a thought in your entire life that wasn't motivated by intimidation or the threat of violence? Or is it that you've never been viewed as anything other than a monster, so you just decided one day that the inside should match the outside?"

Her look became hard as she continued to circle in front of him, waiting for an opening to attack.

"I'm guessing that no man has ever been attracted to your body, and any of them that seemed to be interested did so because they were either drunk or took pity on you. So after all that, you came to the conclusion that all men – not just the ones who hurt you – needed to suffer for how you were being treated by a select few."

Her face contorted in hatred as she pushed her killing intent to the maximum and shouted, "SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH AND STOP TALKING!"

Naruto once again matched her level of killing intent before continuing, "Hit a nerve, did I? I'm not surprised. I'll bet intimidation didn't work, and even the threat of death by your hands couldn't convince one man to actually want you, sexually or otherwise."

The clones finished gathering natural energy and Naruto dispelled the first one, allowing him to enter sage mode.

Naruto took a kunai out of his holster and threw it at Ami, which she easily dodged. She slowly walked towards him with a withering look on her face, clearly disappointed with his pathetic attempt to injure her.

Naruto smirked and finished, "Face it, Ami. You're obsolete; nothing but a relic of a bygone era that should have died out long ago. And no matter what it takes, I'm going to make sure that something like you never bothers this village again."

Screaming in rage, Ami ran at him and threw a combo of attacks at him, slamming her fists into his chest and face. Even though she got lucky and broke two of his ribs, Naruto blocked the rest and ducked under the last one, sweeping her legs out from underneath her. As soon as her back hit the ground, he followed it up with an overhead heel strike to her stomach, driving the air out of her lungs and making her wince.

It appeared that the enhanced strength he received from being in sage mode could be effective in causing her pain, after all.

He performed a few back flips to once again put some distance between them, waiting for Kurama to heal his ribs and for Ami to regain her footing. As soon as she did, Naruto pushed some chakra into his legs and launched himself at Ami like a spear. He swung his right fist forward, driving it into the exact same area he'd hit with his foot just moments earlier, causing her to grunt in pain as she was thrown back several dozen yards from the strength of the blow, embedding her body in the wall of a nearby building.

With little time to spare, Naruto looked over at one of his meditating shadow clones and shouted, "Hey! Get moving! We haven't got a lot of time here!"

The clone opened his eyes and stood up, raising his hands to the overcast sky and furrowing his brow in concentration. After a few moments, the wind began to pick up speed as it howled and screeched against the overwhelming force of Naruto's chakra.

Ami extracted herself from the rubble, still seething over the fact that Naruto had actually caused her pain. "You fucking little shit! Let's see you dodge this!" She flashed through a few hand signs and slammed her palm into the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Crushing Spikes!"

Naruto could feel the attack coming and jumped into the air just in time, as three dozen earth spikes erupted from the ground where he'd been standing only moments before. However, this appeared to be what Ami had wanted because she tackled him in the air, immobilizing his upper body in an unbreakable bear hug.

She landed on the other side of the spikes and began to slowly squeeze her arms together. "You've got no chance of getting out of this, you annoying little insect. Once I get my arms around someone, they're as good as dead. I'm going to squeeze the life out of you before snapping you in half. Any last words?"

Struggling to keep Ami from breaking his back, Naruto flexed his muscles and said, "Yeah. You might be the stupidest fucking person on the planet, you know that? Because you just did exactly what I was hoping you'd do."

Ami looked at Naruto, confused by the statement and wondering what he could possibly be plotting. After a moment, she grunted and a surprised look appeared on her face.

It appeared that Naruto had missed Ami with the kunai on purpose earlier, simply trying to throw it across the clearing to one of his clones. That same clone was now standing behind her wearing a fiendish grin, having buried it into one of the six openings on her body that the Iron Skin Technique couldn't protect.

Naruto smiled and said, "What's the matter? Never had an explosive kunai shoved up your ass before?"

The clone made a ram sign and detonated the kunai, vanishing in the resulting explosion. Ami let go of Naruto and grabbed her backside, screaming in agony at the damage that had been done as he performed a roundhouse kick in the air, catching Ami in her chest and driving her away from him.

Ami struggled to remain on her feet, as her pelvis bone was more than likely fractured in several places. She staggered around for a bit, and then clenched her fists at her sides in pain and frustration. Eyes wide, she raised her head to the sky and yelled, "**FUCK**!"

That proved to be the wrong decision, as another clone suddenly appeared behind her with a kunai in each hand. He raised them overhead and quickly brought them down, stabbing them into her eyes and blinding her instantly.

Ami screamed again and lashed out in a fit of rage, swinging her arm around and destroying the clone in a cloud of smoke. She reached up and pulled the kunai from her now useless eyes, holding one in each hand as she tried to defend herself against anything or anyone that might come within her reach.

After a few moments, Ami stopped swinging wildly and held her arms out to her sides. "Where are you, you sneaky little bitch? When I get my hands on you, I'll rip your head off and…"

That was as far as she got before Naruto suddenly appeared in the air behind her, smothering her killing intent with his own as he drove his elbow into the back of her neck. Ami staggered forward and dropped the kunai she was holding as Naruto started to beat her senseless, not holding back anything as he pummeled her with his sage enhanced attacks.

Right cross to the face. "You're not going…"

Knife hand strike to the throat. "To keep me…"

Crescent kick to the side of her face. "From learning…"

Front kick to her stomach. "The truth…"

Doubled over and gasping for breath, Ami couldn't offer any resistance as Naruto yanked her hair back and screamed into her face, _**"I WANT THAT FILE!"**_

He slammed his fist upwards into her jaw, launching her high into the air before crossing his fingers in front of him and saying, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Seven shadow clones appeared overhead, one in the center right above the rapidly rising body of Ami no Shirokusa while the other six surrounded them. Every one of them raised their right hand and created a small Rasengan, waiting for her to reach the apex of her flight. As she did, the clone in the center slammed his into her stomach, driving her back down to the earth. The force of impact left a large crater about twenty feet across, and Ami clawed the ground as she ground her teeth in pain against the Rasengan being pressed into her body.

Naruto moved quickly to the other side of the clearing, standing opposite of his remaining clone. The clouds in the overcast sky above had become a maelstrom, ready to unleash its wrath on those below. Both Naruto and his clone pointed at the sky, mirror images of one another as they slashed their fingers downward and yelled in unison, _**"WIND STYLE: CHAOS VORTEX!"**_

The sky shuddered as a tornado formed and began to funnel downward, while at the same time the remaining six shadow clones drove their Rasengan into the ground around them, sending rocks and dirt up into the air. As the tornado reached the halfway mark, the debris was sucked into the whirlwind as it continued down, straight through the clone that was holding the Rasengan in place against Ami's stomach, causing it to vanish in a cloud of smoke.

And then the point of the vortex – filled with earth and rock – began to drill through the chest of Ami no Shirokusa.

_And she screamed._

To someone who had never seen such a thing, it was hard to put the sound into words – but it might best be compared to being gored to death by a bull or eaten alive by ants. And right now, Ami was drowning in a psychological ocean of raw agony and despair. Tears fell from her eyes as the vortex mercilessly tore through her upper body, shredding everything it came in contact with.

After fifteen seconds, the screaming stopped because her lungs were gone and she couldn't utter a sound anymore.

After thirty seconds, Naruto ended the technique and the tornado disappeared, making the clouds dissipate and allowing the sun to shine once more on the village. Naruto dismissed the last clone and released his sage mode, before he walked up to look at what remained of Ami no Shirokusa.

Even though her eyes had been destroyed, the look on her face was one of shock and surprise, as if she still couldn't believe that there was someone who had the strength to take her down. Her skin had returned to normal, and rigor mortis had frozen her hands in the shape of claws that had dug furrows into the ground from the immeasurable pain she had experienced. The entire center of her torso was now gone, somewhat like removing the core from an apple, and her body continued to twitch involuntarily from the sheer brutality of her death.

His face devoid of emotion, Naruto reached down and ripped the hitai-ate off of her forehead. He smiled slightly as he said, "I'll take this, since you won't be needing it anymore." He pocketed the item, pausing for a moment before he raised his voice and shouted, "Lady Shizuka!"

Several seconds later, Shizuka stepped out from behind one of the buildings, still in awe over the awesome display of power Naruto had unleashed. She hesitantly walked up to him, unable to form the words to respond.

He motioned his head towards the gallows and said, "Get those men down from there and set them free. Take some time to speak with the villagers to reassure them that everything is going to be fine, and let them know that I'll be gone within the hour. When you get done, I'll be waiting for you at your office." And then he casually bent down and grabbed the hair of Ami, dragging her lifeless corpse down the street, just like he'd promised to do earlier that day.

.

* * *

.

Thirty-six minutes later, Shizuka opened the door to her office and found Naruto sprawled out on the couch, his feet propped up on the cocktail table in front of him, still in his kunoichi form.

She looked at him curiously and asked, "Why do you still look like that?"

He shrugged. "I figured it would be easier to walk out of here as a female, and I'd rather not let anyone know what I really look like. This is still a covert mission after all, and the less chance I give anyone of tracing this back to me and my village the better."

"Good point." She sat down in the chair next to him. "What's happened to you, Naruto?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Shizuka."

"I mean that was some display you put on today, and I'm not talking about how powerful you've become. The Naruto I remember always had a smile on his face and looked for the best in every situation. What I saw out there today was not him. You just killed Ami no Shirokusa in one of the most brutal ways I've ever seen and it didn't even faze you, so I'll ask again…What's happened to you?"

He shrugged. "A lot has happened in the last few years, not all of it good. Look, can I just get the file and get going? I'm just...really eager to get home."

She stared at him for a moment. It was obvious that the subject was something he didn't want to discuss, and she could either press the issue or let it go. After thinking about it, she decided that the latter option was best.

Nodding, she rose and walked over to a painting on the wall. It was of a young woman sitting underneath a tree, and the light of a new day was beginning to peek over the horizon. The caption on the frame underneath read, _'If you keep your face to the sunshine, You will never see a shadow.'_

She pressed the face of the woman, then the sun and finally the shadow of the tree. Each motion produced a barely audible 'click' and then the painting swung away to reveal a safe hidden in the wall. Shizuka punched in the combination, opening it and taking out a stack of files. She quickly flipped through them and offered him the sixth one.

He reached out and took the file. "Thanks, Shizuka. Now that I have what I came for, I'll be on my way. Take care of yourself and good luck."

As he opened the door, curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "Naruto, you said a lot has happened to you, and I know you don't want to talk about it but I need to know one thing. Are…Are you going to be okay?"

He stopped and turned around to look at her. A slight smile adorned his face as he raised the mission file and said, "I will be…as soon as I read this." And with that, he closed the door and left.

.

* * *

.

Naruto thought about his next step. He was itching to read the file, but he also needed to get rid of his clothes and change back. Pressing on to Kirigakure to relax and spend the night was tempting, but he really wasn't interested in waiting that long. His best option at this point was returning to the cabin where Shizuka had been hiding to complete his business, and then leave for Konoha from there.

He entered, not bothering to create a clone to replace the front door since he didn't plan on being in the cabin that long. He threw the file on the table and stripped out of Shizuka's torn kunoichi outfit, before flinging the garments onto the bed. Finally able to release his Sexy Jutsu, he did so and stretched a bit, happy to be back in his normal form. He then walked over to the table and sat down, his hands trembling slightly as he opened the file and began to read.

The first few pages of the file were copies of correspondence between Shizuka and Tsunade, mostly regarding the mission parameters and what Nadeshiko village was obligated to provide while Sakura and Hinata remained there. The next several pages detailed expenditures they incurred during their stay for items such as rent, food and clothing. Naruto skimmed through most of it, deciding that this particular data was irrelevant at this point.

On page seventeen, the file began to reference the only thing he was interested in…_the birth of Hikaru_.

He read each paragraph slowly, taking his time to savor each bit of information. His expression was curious at first, but on page nineteen he stopped for a minute, as his face became pale and his mouth suddenly turned dry.

He continued to read. On page twenty-two, his expression softened a bit as he thought about the last paragraph he read. However, by page twenty-five the soft expression was gone, only to be replaced by one of hatred and rage.

Even though there were ten pages left, at page twenty-seven he decided he'd seen enough. He pushed the file away from him and sat there, his hands clenched while he thought about everything he'd just read. Years of training with the Mienai Segi to control his emotions were only a distant memory at this point, and his fists shook as he ground his teeth in anger and frustration.

This only lasted about fifteen seconds before he decided to unleash everything he was holding inside. He suddenly stood and raised his arms, before taking a deep breath and yelling at the top of his lungs, **"FUCK!" **And his fists came down, smashing the table into splinters of wood.

_**Well, that was certainly unexpected information. I sympathize with your frustration and understand your reaction, but you need to remain calm.**_

He paced around the cabin, clenching and unclenching his fists. _How can I be calm, Kurama? You saw as well as I did what was in that file! How can I just…_

Kurama interrupted him. _**Naruto. Unless you plan on physically taking out your frustration on those responsible, you need to reign in your anger. Trust me on this; I have decades of wisdom over you in this area. **_

That seemed to do the trick, as he stopped pacing and closed his eyes briefly in an effort to meditate. _No, I'm not going to do anything like that. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm very bitter, hurt and angry right now._

_**And you have every right to be. But until you have the other half of the story, you need to remain in control.**_

_The other half of the story? What the hell are you talking about?_

Kurama sighed. Even though he'd improved in recent years, sometimes the childish Naruto and his oblivious nature reared its head. _**I'm talking about the fact that once again, you shouldn't jump to conclusions until you have the missing information. You now know 'what' happened, but you still don't know 'why' it happened. You need explanations before coming to a decision about what to do next.**_

Naruto thought about the words for a brief moment_. Okay, okay. I get it. So what do you think I should do? I was planning on using the Hiraishin no Jutsu to get back to the village today, but it might not be a good idea with the state of mind I'm in._

_**I agree, but for different reasons. First of all, you've never used the Hiraishin no Jutsu over such a long distance before so I think it would be prudent not to chance it right now. And second, taking the same way home as how you arrived here might give you time to calm down and think about the best way to handle this. I doubt it will change your outlook on the situation, but it's worth a shot.**_

He walked over to pick up the file from the wreckage of the table._ Alright Kurama, we'll do it your way. But I'm pushing the trip back to the village the same way I pushed coming here. I want to be home in three days._

_**As good a compromise as any, I suppose. Let's get moving, Naruto. Your mission may be over, but your quest isn't finished yet. I'm curious as to what the two females back in the village will say about this now that you have the file.**_

.

* * *

.

"Thank you, Crow. You're dismissed, and please let my receptionist know that I'm not to be disturbed for the next half hour."

The ANBU nodded before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Kakashi activated the privacy seals on his office before reaching into one of his desk drawers to move aside the false bottom and take the Sakura/Hinata mission file out from its hiding place once again.

It had been seven days since he received the initial message from Nadeshiko village, and if he'd calculated right Naruto should have made it there in six days – assuming he didn't rush it – but he probably did. And if that was true, the redaction seal on the file should be gone by now, allowing him to learn what was previously hidden.

He opened the file, and noticed immediately that the redacted parts were now visible. He didn't know when it happened, but it was obvious that Naruto completed his mission. Kakashi eye smiled, feeling a sense of pride in his former student.

Now there weren't many people who knew about it, but one of the first skills Kakashi learned during his years of training with the ANBU – that also served him well during the three years he'd been Hokage – was the ability to speed read documents, committing to memory any vital data before having to either destroy or hand over the original. He quickly began flipping through the mission file, scanning each page with precision for pertinent information.

And on page seventeen, he began to find what he was looking for.

…On page nineteen, his lone visible eye became wide with shock, surprised with the information that was presented.

…On page twenty-two, he eye smiled at what he found in the file. It appeared there were people in this world with a sense of morality, after all.

…And on page twenty-seven, his face turned the palest shade of white and his lone visible eye grew wide again. However, this time it wasn't from shock, but rather from fear.

Kakashi had been there four months ago when the Kyuubi had given Naruto his power in exchange for freedom – and so far there hadn't been any signs that it was all part of an elaborate scheme – but old habits die hard, and his first thought was that if Naruto was seeing this, then he knew without a doubt that he was angry. As to how angry he was and what would happen because of it, there was no way to tell until he got back to the village. And by then it might be too late.

He lowered the privacy seals on his office and stood up, pressing a button on his desk. Within moments an ANBU was kneeling before him.

"Lord Hokage, how can I be of assistance?"

"I want you to alert every available ANBU to keep an eye out for Naruto. He's away on a mission, but as soon as he's back in the village I want to know about it immediately and no one – and I mean NO ONE – should attempt to capture or restrain him unless the situation changes and you're required to intervene. Understand?"

The ANBU nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi grabbed the file and exited his office, with a lone destination in mind. There was someone he needed to talk to, and even though the hour was late he couldn't wait for tomorrow. The discussion had to be done tonight.

.

* * *

.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Tsunade was distracted from her bottle of sake by someone at her front door. She looked at the clock, wondering who it could possibly be trying to see her at this time of night, reluctantly setting down her cup so that she could find out who it was.

She received a bit of a surprise when she opened the door and saw Kakashi standing there with a very serious look on his face.

"Good evening, Tsunade. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but it's very important that I talk with you. May I come in?"

She hesitated for a second before stepping aside and gesturing for him to enter. He walked straight for the table she had been sitting at just a few moments ago and sat down, waiting for her to do the same.

She closed the door behind her and joined him. "So, what brings you here so late at night? I'm sure it isn't because you needed someone to drink with."

"Not even close. It's about this." And he threw the mission file down in front of her. "I believe we have some things to discuss."

"Kakashi, I told you once before that I'm not discussing the mission, plain and simple. So why are you even asking?"

"Open it."

Confused, she opened the file and looked at the first page. The expression on her face vanished as she saw that the information was no longer redacted, allowing anyone to see what she had hidden eight years ago. She flipped through a few pages to verify that it wasn't simply an illusion before giving him a deadpan look and asked, "When?"

"Within the last few days. The village called the marker for payment, so I checked the file this evening to see if things had changed." His lone eyebrow went up as he finished, "It was a very interesting read."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, "Fine, now you know what happened. But that still doesn't explain why you're here now, when you could've just waited until tomorrow to talk with me."

"Because I sent Naruto to provide payment for the marker."

The color drained from her face and she asked, "Are you out of your mind, Kakashi? What the hell was going through your mind when you decided to send him there?"

He raised his voice and said in a harsh tone, "There were several things going through my mind, Tsunade – the most important of which was that Lady Shizuka requested two jōnin level kunoichi as payment for the marker, while also telling us that the expected survival rate for this mission was fifteen percent at best. I sent Naruto not only find out about Hikaru's parentage – which he has every right to know, by the way – but to save the lives of others. Hinata and Ino were the only two kunoichi available at the time, and if I'd sent them they'd probably be dead right now."

"Besides, in case you've forgotten there hasn't been a part of his life that Naruto hasn't offered up for this village. He saved us from Pain, he pretty much saved the entire world in the fourth shinobi war and he saved Hinata and Hikaru from whatever horrible fate Hiashi had in store for them. He deserves far better than he's gotten, not just from you or me – but from everyone in this village. This information was important to him, and I'd promised him months ago that if something ever came across my desk, I'd give him the opportunity to learn the truth."

"Which brings me to the reason why I'm here tonight. Naruto is more than likely on his way back here, although I'm not sure how close he is to the village and he could be here in an instant with the Hiraishin no Jutsu. I have the ANBU keeping an eye out for him, but they're under strict orders to give him his space unless actions warrant otherwise."

He pointed at the file. "This thing says 'what' happened, but not the 'why'. And that's something I need to know, because it's probably the only thing that's standing between this village and an angry, bijuu-powered future Hokage right now."

.

* * *

.

The following day was a miserable Friday afternoon in Konoha. It had been raining since dawn – and not the kind of shower that seemed to wash away problems and disappointments – this one seemed cold and unforgiving, as each drop that fell permeated through clothes and skin to absorb their chill into the very core of a person.

It had been a depressing week for Hinata with Naruto gone on his mission, and she missed his presence at the house. If she didn't know any better, Hinata would swear that the sky was crying in sympathy for her, mirroring the ache she held in her heart for her absent husband.

She was on her way to meet Sasuke and Sakura for lunch at one of the local restaurants, since her training regimen for today had been canceled because of the rain, and more than likely Hikaru's classes at the academy would be cut short as well. Maybe some time with her friends would lighten her mood before Hikaru got home later that afternoon.

She walked through the door, and noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were already seated in one of the booths – Sasuke had his usual impassive look about him, while Sakura once again looked tired and miserable. Hinata wasn't sure which one was irritating Sakura more – Sasuke or the preganacy – but she was probably safe in assuming that it was a little of both.

"Hello Sakura, Sasuke. Thanks for inviting me to lunch. How are you both doing today?"

Sasuke said, "Fine Hinata, thanks for asking."

Sakura gave him a withering look. "I'm SO glad that YOU'RE doing okay Sasuke, but you're not the one carrying this baby around. Every bone in my body aches, and I swear if this kid kicks me any harder he's going to break my ribs."

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sakura, we've been over this. Women give birth, men do not. It's the way things are."

"Well it shouldn't be! Let's see you get fat and bloated like I am! Or get up every morning feeling like someone just drove a kunai into your spine! I bet you couldn't take one week of what I've been experiencing for six months!"

The Haruno temper coupled with Sasuke's presence and her pregnancy was driving Sakura's personality to extreme levels, and Hinata thought it best to intervene before things got out of hand. "Look, before this degenerates into a shouting match, can we change the subject? We are in a public place, after all."

After hearing this, Sakura calmed down a bit and said, "I'm sorry about that, Hinata. My hormones are just a little out of control."

_A little out of control? _Hinata thought._ That's like saying my father is a little bit arrogant._

"Anyway, you're right – let's change the subject. Is Naruto back from his mission yet?"

Hinata sighed. "No he's not. He's been gone almost a week, and I'm starting to get worried. If it was a long term mission, Kakashi-sensei should have told me."

Sasuke said, "Don't worry Hinata, I'm sure the dobe will be back soon. You know he doesn't like being away from you for very long."

As if on cue, Naruto came into the restaurant and walked over to the table. He was soaked from head to toe, as if he'd been wandering aimlessly through the rain and he wore a haunted look on his face. Hinata still had her back to him, so Sasuke and Sakura were the first to see him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and asked, "Dobe? You okay?"

Upon hearing this, Hinata looked over her shoulder to see Naruto standing there. Overjoyed to see him, she jumped up from her chair to hug him tight, happy that he was home at last.

"Naruto-kun! Did you just get back? I've been worried sick about you, and I missed…"

Something was wrong. Naruto hadn't moved his arms to hold her, and didn't even try to kiss her. Hinata released him and took a step back, finally noticing the expression on his face. She looked into his eyes, which had turned midnight blue and in a timid voice said, "Naruto-kun?"

Suddenly, the seal on her hand was flooded with emotions, and it gave her goosebumps as they traveled up her arm and into her heart. Hurt was the most powerful one she felt, followed by despair and then anger. They were so powerful and unexpected that she took another step back and stammered, "Na…Naruto-kun, what happened to you? Why do you look like that? Aren't you happy to see me?"

He closed his eyes, unable to answer. He knew that this discussion with Hinata should be done in private, at their house where he didn't have to worry about causing a scene. He kept his breathing steady, trying to remain calm despite how he felt.

Unfortunately, Sakura chose that moment to speak up.

"Naruto! Hinata just asked you a question, so how about you quit being…"

That was as far as she got before Naruto began to grind his teeth. The anger that Hinata was feeling through the seal skyrocketed, dwarfing the other emotions as his head snapped around to look at Sakura. His eyes were glowing red, and his voice dripped with hostility as he spat, "You shut the hell up, Sakura. I'll get to you in a minute."

Even though Sasuke didn't flinch, Sakura and Hinata shrank back and their eyes grew wide in fear at the sight before them. Realizing that he might scare some of the patrons of the restaurant – in addition to the two women in front of him right now – he curbed his anger and his eyes returned to normal. Sakura and Hinata continued to shy away from him, wondering what would cause him to act like that all of a sudden.

Naruto decided to get to the point and leave the restaurant before Sakura drove him over the edge again. He looked at Hinata and said, "I picked up Hikaru from the academy and brought him over to the Hyūga compound to stay with Neji and Tenten for the night. We need to have a talk." He threw something on the table that made a metallic clink when it landed. "I'll see you back at the house." And with that, he vanished in a flash of yellow light.

No one moved for several seconds, each of them unable to comprehend what had just happened. Neither Sakura nor Hinata wanted to be the first one to break the silence and ask the obvious question, but they both knew someone eventually had to do it.

Luckily, Sasuke was the first one to speak up and asked, "What's wrong with the dobe?" He reached for the object that Naruto had thrown on the table. "And what the hell is this?"

When he turned it over, they all saw immediately that it was a hitai-ate. But it was only Sakura and Hinata that recognized the symbol, and it suddenly became clear as to why Naruto had been so angry moments before.

_Naruto had been to Nadeshiko village. And he knew the truth about Hikaru. _

The faces of both women became pale, and Hinata had to sit down quickly as her legs began to shake, while Sakura stared off into space. After a minute they looked at each other, unsure of what to say next but Sakura somehow found the words.

"He knows, Hinata. What do we do now?"

She looked at Sakura and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going home to talk with my husband." A tear rolled down her cheek as she finished, "Although after this, I'm not sure he'll want to be married to me anymore." And she ran out of the restaurant, terror gripping her heart as she thought about the conversation that awaited her, wondering if it would lead to Naruto leaving her forever.

She _**wouldn't**_ let that happen – she _**couldn't**_ let that happen. Unlike when they were children, she wasn't going to put things off until it was too late. She vowed that before Naruto walked through the door and out of her life, she would beg for his forgiveness and let him know that she loved him.

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At some point during her walk home, the rain outside had stopped but Hinata didn't notice. Her mind was numb to her surroundings as she stepped up to the front door of her house, wondering if her life and the man she loved would be taken away from her, no matter how hard she fought to keep them.

She opened the door and walked in, noticing immediately that Naruto was sitting in the dining room, rapidly pouring cups of sake and downing them in one shot. It seemed that he was dreading this conversation just as much as she was.

She moved to the opposite side of the table and sat down, folding her hands in front of her and waiting patiently for Naruto to speak. Even though she had so much to say, she felt that with everything he'd discovered, he deserved the right to speak first.

He continued to drink shots of sake in silence, until he suddenly stopped and looked at her. He pushed his emotions at her through the seal, so that she could see that his look matched how he felt. He wanted her to know the depths of his pain and heartache as he spoke the words to her.

"He's mine. He's my son."

Hinata could feel his anguish washing over her, drowning her in his sorrow. She could tell that he was very upset about the information being kept from him, but surprisingly enough the anger she felt through the seal wasn't nearly as strong as it had been at the restaurant.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. He's your son."

He stared at her for a minute, the air thick with tension before he finally asked, "Why, Hinata? Why would you keep something like that from me? Do you realize that I've missed a good portion of his childhood? That no matter how hard I try or wish otherwise, I'll never get those years with my son back? How can you possibly explain what you've put me through?"

She looked away and chewed her bottom lip, trying to put into words the reasons why she'd kept everything a secret, even after he'd returned…Or after they'd gotten married…Or after he'd given four months of caring and devotion to her. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the only logical explanation was her own cowardice. Her mind had created many imaginary scenarios about what would happen when he found out the truth, and all of them ended with him walking away and leaving her alone and miserable forever. Her sole excuse was fear of the unknown.

Naruto saw her turn her head to think about it, deciding to give her a moment to work up the courage to tell him the truth. But as the seconds dragged on and she didn't give him an answer, he grew aggravated because he felt that this should have been an easy answer for her. Deciding he'd endured enough silence, he slammed his hand down on the table, causing her to jump a bit as she looked him in the eyes once again.

"Do you have any idea how much this hurts me, Hinata? How angry I am at having to find out like this, when you should have been the one to tell me months ago?"

Her lower lip began to quiver and tears fell from her eyes as she said, "I…I know, Naruto-kun and I'm sorry. I should have told you that you were Hikaru's father, but…"

He interrupted her. "I'm not even talking about that, Hinata! Yes, I'm angry and hurt that I've purposely been kept in the dark about Hikaru, and I have more questions that I want answered, but right now I'm talking about YOU!"

She looked at him in confusion as she wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "Me? What…What about me?"

Naruto stood up and began to pace back and forth in frustration. "I'm talking about the fact that for months, I've been living in the shadow of the memory of Hikaru's father, wondering if you could ever love me the same way you loved him. I wanted to kick his ass so bad for what he did to you and Hikaru; I hated the fact that he didn't give a shit about you having to deal with the shame from your clan, and how he left you alone to endure the constant scorn and ridicule from the villagers. And after all that, I find out that those two people are one and the same. **_I'M HIM!_**"

He sat back down and stared at her. His eyes had turned a bright azure blue, and his look was that of a person who seemed lost. "Other than Hikaru, the only thing I've been thinking about since the day I came back has been you, Hinata. I've relived your confession to me from when you fought Pain a thousand times in my mind. I never saw what you truly meant to me, because I was stupid and blind to you and your affections, and I took the cowards way out by not even talking to you about any of it. I continued to chase after Sakura, and she only brought more pain and suffering into my life, driving me away from the village…and from you. I left you alone for so many years to suffer through it all, and I…I just wanted to make it up to you. To give you the life that you should have had – I mean _**we**_ should have had from the very beginning." He buried his head in his hands and finished, "I wasn't asking for much in return. I just wanted you to love me the same way I love you, that's all."

The grief in his voice tore at her, and she could feel his heartache through the seal as his body shook. She was about to say something, and then all of the sudden his words hit her, making her heart skip a beat.

She walked around the table and sat down next to him. She gingerly reached out to touch his shoulder and asked, "Naruto-kun, can…can you repeat that last part again? Did…Did you just say that you love me?"

He took his face from his hands, and even though no tears had fallen from his eyes, they were still moist with emotion. "Yes Hinata, I did. I love you very much, and I believe I always have. Even though we've only been married for four months, you've made so many positive changes in my life that it's hard to think about what might have happened if you hadn't saved me from myself. You helped me find my way back to Konoha – to my friends and Baa-chan – but most of all to you and Hikaru."

Hinata sat there, stunned. The words she never thought she'd hear were coming from the mouth of her husband, and somehow through it all her brain and her heart refused to believe it. She might regret it later, but she had to ask the question that had been haunting her for the last eight years.

"But…But what about Sakura? Don't you love her more than me?"

He gave her a small smile, not surprised at the question. She still refused to see what was right in front of her, and he wondered if he would ever break her of the habit. He remembered the words Hikaru used against him that day in the park and decided to repeat them now. "Well, I married _**you**_ didn't I?"

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she said, "But…But I know you did it to save me from whatever my father had planned. He didn't give you any other choice. He made you do it."

Naruto reached out and lovingly caressed her cheek. "You're wrong, Hinata-hime. I didn't marry you because I _**had**_ to; I married you because I _**wanted**_ to. And the reason for that is simple…You're my one true love, and my most precious person. Believe it."

Overcome with joy, Hinata buried her face in his neck and cried. She had come home fearing the worst possible scenario, and somehow through it all had gotten the best. She privately thanked Kami for bringing such a wonderful man back into her life.

"I…I love you too, Naruto-kun. You know I always have, and I…I always will. You…You mean everything to me, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

They sat there for a while holding each other; Hinata hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder, while Naruto comforted her by stroking her back. Just as he was about to say something else to her, he heard a strange humming noise off in the distance, and as the seconds passed it seemed to be coming closer.

He pulled her away from his body and whispered, "Hinata…I need you to stop crying and be quiet for a minute."

She sniffed a bit and looked at him, puzzled. "Naruto-kun, what…"

"SHHH!" He silenced her by placing a finger over her lips before cocking his head to the side trying to listen. The sound was slowly getting louder, and after a moment he recognized it for what it was.

Naruto grabbed Hinata and moved quickly, upending the dining room table onto its side as he threw her down behind it, covering her body with his own in an effort to protect her from what was about to happen.

And then the front wall exploded inwards, destroying most of the furniture and showering the room with rubble.

_**Konoha was under attack.**_

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A/N: So there you have it – Naruto is the father. I know there were some silly theories that Gaara might be the dad, but c'mon – you guys didn't really think that I would make a Naruto/Hinata story and have Gaara be the father, did you?

Now, here are a few notes for everyone. First off, I really had another direction that I originally wanted to go with for the conversation between Naruto and Hinata – something much more confrontational with Naruto getting far more angry – but after I wrote it, I decided that it really didn't depict how things should turn out between the two of them, especially after I wrote that great piece between Naruto and Hikaru at the beginning of the last chapter for **Odinson91**. So, I toned it down quite a bit and made it more sentimental. I hope you guys like the change, and don't worry – Naruto will be able to take out some of his frustration on the people who are attacking Konoha. And if you think the way Ami died was pretty cool – or brutal, depending on your point of view – wait until you see what I have in store for the final battle scene coming up. I got the idea one day after watching an old episode of the Justice League, and I can't wait to write it.

And now that Hikaru's father has been revealed, you might be thinking that I'm done with major surprises and plot twists – BUT YOU'D BE WRONG! I've got a bunch more in mind for this story, and I'm not even CLOSE to the end of how I envisioned this tale so you just have to keep reading and find out what they are!

So what's coming next? Well, the next few chapters will be the battle for Konoha and yes, Anubis leads the attack. Don't know who he is? Google it and you might get a hint of what's coming – or maybe not – I won't know until I actually write it. And if you think I'm doing this to keep my readers guessing, you'd be right (insert maniacal laugh here).

And just for the fun of it, I'm putting up a poll on my profile page due to some PM's that I received. What's the subject, you may ask? Very simple…What's better, Strawberry Twizzlers or Red Vines? If you get the itch and want to cast your vote, head over there and do so. It won't make any difference in the story but everyone needs a fun-sized break from reality sometimes.

I hope everyone liked this chapter, and if you did please leave a review. The quick release of this chapter is a direct result of so many pieces of positive feedback and I'm certain that the more you leave, the faster the next chapter gets pushed out.

And as far as I'm concerned, _**RED VINES RULE.**_

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


	13. Anubis and the Minions of Set

**Oh, it's seven o'clock, time for a party – and I know what I wanna see…Chapter 13!**

So, chapter 13 is here for everyone to enjoy and before I begin, I want to say thank you to everyone who left me a review for the last chapter. Once again, I broke a personal record with the number of reviews and I can't thank everyone enough for reading my story. It's very uplifting that people enjoy what I write and let me know, because it fuels my desire to keep churning out new chapters.

So as I mentioned at the ending of the last chapter, here we have the battle for Konoha. I know most of you were hoping to hear more about Naruto, Hinata and Hikaru but sorry – that's next chapter so you're going to have to wait a bit. But I promise to make sure it's worth the wait.

And I would once again like to thank my anonymous beta for his help and support, as well as fellow author **Titokhan** who provided me with some great ideas for this chapter. Your help is very much appreciated!

Without further ado, let's get on with the show! I'll save most of my comments for the author's note at the end of the chapter.

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, but I have an idea. We kidnap Masashi Kishimoto and hold him for ransom for the rights to Naruto and the sum of…ONE MILLION DOLLARS!**_

_**Number Two – Umm, don't you think we should ask for more than a million dollars? That's not exactly a lot of money these days. I mean, Microsoft alone makes over 14 billion dollars in a year!**_

_**Disclaimer – Really? That's a lot of money.**_

_**Number Two – Yes, and that's the net profit…not gross. **_

_**Disclaimer – Okay, then…We will kidnap Masashi Kishimoto and hold him for ransom for the rights to Naruto and the sum of…ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS! (+1 if you get the reference.)**_

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Chapter 13 – Anubis and the Minions of Set

As the dust began to clear, Naruto looked up from his position behind the remnants of his dining room table. His ears were still ringing, and rubble from the explosion had embedded itself into various points in the surrounding walls. As he tried to stand up, he felt a stinging sensation in his side and noticed that he was seriously bleeding from two pieces of concrete sticking out from his body. He realized that based on the placement of his injuries, if he hadn't protected Hinata like he did, the shards would have ripped through her head and taken out a good portion of her right side.

He rolled off of her and sat on his knees. He shook her and said, "Hinata…I need you to pull these things out of my body and be quick about it. We don't have a lot of time."

She looked up and saw blood leaking around the debris lodged in his body. Her eyes became wide and she stammered, "Nar...Naruto-kun, you're hurt! Are…"

He ground this teeth and spat, "Damn it, Hinata – you can be concerned for me later! Pull these pieces out of my body so I can start healing; we're going to have visitors here in about five seconds!"

Shocked into action, Hinata reached out with trembling hands and yanked the pieces out, causing blood to gush from the wounds for a brief second before they began to close.

"Now when I stand up, stay on your hands and knees and crawl to the back wall. I don't want you getting in the way when I kill whoever is responsible for this. Understand?"

She nodded and got on all fours, ready to move. Naruto stood up and kicked what was left of the table forward, providing a distraction as it shattered and giving Hinata a few moments to get to the back of the room.

As the dust finally settled, three men appeared in the opening that had once been the front wall of their house. All of them were very muscular with bronzed skin, wearing only a simple loincloth and two gauntlets, all colored gold. Their weapon of choice seemed to be a sword in the shape of a sickle, similar to what farmers use to harvest grain.

Naruto sneered. "Well, well, well…What an unpleasant surprise; the Minions of Set have decided to pay me a visit. Where's Anubis, that sadistic piece of shit you call a leader? Does he plan on showing me his face or is he taking the cowards' way out by hiding in the shadows?"

The man in front gave Naruto an impassive stare as he said, "Our leader is no coward, Gabriel – and he would never hide from someone as pitiful as you. Instead, he has given you the opportunity to either run from this conflict or face him directly. If you choose the latter, he awaits you at the center of this village."

"So that's it? He sent you to deliver a message to me like the fawning bootlickers that you are, letting me know where he is when I could have found him in an instant if I wanted to?"

The Minion raised the corner of his mouth and said, "Partially. We are also here to take away that which is most dear to you." He pointed at Hinata. "That woman and her offspring. Lord Anubis has decided that they will make fine additions to our ranks."

The sneer vanished from his face, only to be replaced by one of anger. "Is that right? Well, congratulations – you just made the biggest mistake of your life by threatening my two most precious people. And if you think you're going to make it out of here alive after telling me that, you're delusional."

"It matters not what you think. You know the power we possess, and we are five hundred strong at the moment. With every injury we inflict, our numbers increase and this village will eventually fall. You cannot possibly hope to stop…"

The Minion paused as he watched the chakra cloak form around Naruto, as his eyes turned red and he sprouted three tails in rapid succession. He raised an eyebrow and said, "This is unexpected, Gabriel. I haven't seen you use this power before. When did you acquire it?"

Naruto laughed maniacally as he pushed out a large amount of killing intent. "Just because you haven't seen it before doesn't mean I never had it. Everyone has secrets, and this one's mine." And the three tails lashed out faster than the Minions could follow, wrapping around their necks and lifting them in the air to dangle helplessly before him. They dropped their swords and clawed at them, panicking as they felt the heat begin to rise as it constricted their throats, slowly cutting off their ability to speak and breathe.

"You see, I know the weakness of the forbidden jutsu that Anubis uses to protect you. If I incinerate the lot of you, he won't be able to use your rotting corpses to attack anyone – and that should give me more than enough time to find Anubis and turn him into a bloody smear on my boot."

A grin of pure evil appeared on his face and Naruto said, "You have all been weighed on the scales of justice, and I have found you all wanting of death. Know despair as I pass judgment, _and __**BURN**_."

His chakra erupted into a fiery blaze, filling their home with the sickening odor of burning flesh and bone as the men thrashed about in a desperate attempt to free themselves. They stopped moving once their eyeballs had boiled in their sockets and their brains liquefied under the intense heat, but Naruto didn't stop until each body had dismembered itself, collapsing into a smoking pile of limbs. With a final surge, he turned what was left of them into piles of hot ash and performed a Reppushou, dispersing them into the air.

Naruto lowered his chakra cloak and turned around to look at Hinata. She was staring at the spot that the men had been occupying only minutes before, her eyes wide from what Naruto assumed was fear over the way he'd just killed them. Even though he was sympathetic to her feelings, right now he needed her to snap out of it because he was going to need her help, along with the rest of his friends against the Minions of Set.

He kneeled down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata…I'm sorry you had to see that, but there's a small army attacking the village and I need you to…"

Naruto stopped, noticing that his words weren't getting through to Hinata. She still appeared to be staring off into space, lost in whatever thought was running through her mind. He snapped his fingers in front of her face and said, "C'mon, Hinata…You need to focus right now. I didn't mean to scare you with how I just killed those men, but…"

He was interrupted as Hinata raised her head to look him in the eyes, and she quietly mouthed a single word.

"Hikaru."

"What was that, Hinata?"

"Hikaru. That man said they were after Hikaru." Her eyes grew wide as she shouted, "THEY'RE AFTER HIKARU!" And Hinata shoved him aside and ran for the opening in the wall, intent on protecting her son at all costs. The sensation of overwhelming fear struck at him through the seal, making his body shiver before he quickly shut down the link between them.

Naruto caught her from behind in a bear hug. "Hinata! You need to calm down and listen to me!"

"LET ME GO, NARUTO-KUN! THOSE MEN COULD BE KIDNAPPING HIKARU RIGHT NOW! WE NEED TO STOP THEM!"

He realized that look he'd seen just a few moments ago wasn't fear of what he'd done, but rather from thinking that her son was in grave danger. She was a mother bear protecting her cub, afraid that she wouldn't be there to protect her son when he needed her most.

Naruto spun her around and grabbed her wrists. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she continued to yell at him hysterically.

"WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME? I HAVE TO GET TO MY SON! I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT…"

He had to snap her back to reality. At the top of his lungs he shouted into her face,_** "HINATA!"**_

His voice silenced her instantly. She continued to look at Naruto, tears falling from her eyes as she begged for him to release her.

"Please Naruto-kun, I'm…I'm supposed to keep him safe. He's my son and I'm supposed to protect him and keep him safe. Please let me go…Please…"

Naruto sighed. If this were any other time, he would be more understanding but right now he couldn't afford it. He looked at her and said, "Hinata. You need to remember that Hikaru is with Neji and Tenten, and as far as I'm concerned he couldn't be in better hands. They'll defend him with their lives if need be, so I'm asking you have faith in them and their skills to protect him."

She stared at him while her mind and heart struggled against his words. Even though what he'd just said made perfect sense, it didn't change the fact that she wanted to run to Hikaru and protect him at the cost of her life.

"The village is under attack and innocent lives hang in the balance, so I'm asking you to trust me on this. One of the Mienai Segi is out there, and I'm the only one who can defeat him but I'm going to need your help to do it. Do you understand?"

She bit her bottom lip and hesitated a brief moment, before realizing that he was right and reluctantly nodding yes.

He nodded back, dragging her up the stairs and into the study. He walked over and pushed aside one of the bookcases, revealing a hidden room behind it where he kept his weapons and jutsu scrolls, along with everything he'd collected from his time with the Mienai Segi. Under normal circumstances, the village would catalog these and lock them up for safe keeping, but Naruto decided months ago that there was no way he was going to willingly give up anything that might help him protect his precious people.

Naruto pointed at the far wall and said, "Hinata, in that cabinet you'll find a specialized kunoichi outfit that I had made for you just in case something like this happened. Put it on and grab one of the holsters filled with exploding kunai, along with the second katana from the top shelf to your right."

As Hinata stripped to comply with his instructions, she saw Naruto open another cabinet and take out a strange sword. It appeared to be shaped very similar to the weapons held earlier by the Minions of Set; a simple handle with a small crossguard and a curved blade. However, where the blade of the other weapons appeared black this one shimmered in the light of the room.

She couldn't help but be curious and asked, "Naruto-kun, that weapon seems very similar to what those men were carrying. What is it?"

He held the weapon up and said, "It's called a Khopesh sword, Hinata. It's used in a country in the west called Egypt, and the reason it's shaped like this is because it serves a dual purpose. Farmers there use it to harvest their crops in addition to defending their land. This way, they always have a weapon in their hand if the enemy attacks." He stared at it for a second before he continued, "This one is special, though – it allows me to channel wind chakra through the blade, making it much more deadly than a normal weapon. And I thought it might be fitting to use this, since Anubis – the Mienai Segi member we're up against – is named after the Egyptian God of the dead."

Hinata suddenly remembered her conversation with Tenten a few days ago when she heard that name mentioned. "How…How did you know that Anubis was the one attacking us?"

"Because those men I just killed were part of his personal army, and they call themselves the Minions of Set. They're basically a fanatical cult that would follow him to the gates of hell if he asked them to. He makes sure the number of followers always stays around five hundred, and as their ranks grow and members are recruited – willingly or not – he makes sure to keep only the strongest fighters while the rest are…discarded. And since he only keeps the strongest members, they become that much harder to kill with each successive battle. Also, Anubis knows a forbidden jutsu that infects his followers with his chakra, allowing them to not only cheat death, but recruit others to his cause as well." He tilted his head in thought and said, "What's puzzling me is why Saladin sanctioned this attack in the first place. Konoha hasn't done anything to warrant an attack on the scale that Anubis provides. Something's going on behind the scenes and I don't know what it is."

Hinata gave him a puzzled look and said, "Saladin? Who's that?"

"He's the leader of the Mienai Segi. He actually founded the organization and he knows more forbidden jutsu than anyone. He's also the one who teaches the principles of strength and discipline that you saw tattooed on my arms, and only believes in the use of violence if the cause is just or warranted. And that's why I'm confused, because sending in Anubis under the 'eye for an eye' philosophy would mean that Konoha is guilty of something on a grand scale, like genocide." He strapped the Khopesh sword to his back and attached a holster of exploding kunai to his leg before turning to look at Hinata. "Are you ready?"

She grabbed the katana from the rack and nodded. "What do we do now?"

"We need to find Ino, and then get over to the Nara compound and talk to Shikamaru so that he can coordinate our counterattack. We HAVE to eliminate the Minions of Set as fast as possible before Anubis gets a chance to corrupt anyone else in the village with his chakra." His arm encircled her waist and he said, "Now hold on. I'm going to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu to jump halfway across Konoha to the hospital, and then we'll continue on foot from there."

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Shikamaru Nara was generally perceived by his friends as a lazy person, preferring to stare at clouds rather than do any type of menial labor. However, in this case perception and reality couldn't be farther apart. Nobody knew, but the real reason he stared at clouds all day was due to the fact that as a man with an IQ of over 200, his brain was constantly moving – flitting from idea to idea and thought to thought, occasionally fixating on a single item that he couldn't banish from his mind no matter how hard he tried. Staring at clouds brought his pace of thinking down to that of a normal person, allowing him sporadic moments of lucid peace from his own hectic world.

And then there were times when his curse became a gift, to be used to save the lives of his friends and the village he called home. The fourth shinobi war was proof of this.

He knew that Konoha was under attack from the time he heard the first explosion, and surmised that a small army was responsible due to the chain reaction that followed. The strikes were well coordinated and timed, working in perfect harmony with each other but there seemed to be no goal or purpose behind it, which confused him. No matter how many battles he'd fought, there was always a reason to explain why the fight was taking place – it might be money, power, control…it didn't matter, but there was always something. In this case, there didn't seem to be one and until he knew why, formulating a strategy would be most troublesome.

It was at this point in his line of thinking that Naruto, Hinata and Ino landed in front of his house. And it was apparent by the look on his face that Naruto had information about what was happening that no one else did.

"Shikamaru, I need you to use Ino and her Shindenshin no Jutsu to coordinate the defense of the village with the Hokage and the rest of the Jōnin commanders. We have a level five security threat with the potential for moderate loss of life."

"Understood, Naruto. Do you have any idea who's behind the attack, and what we're up against?"

"The guy in charge is named Anubis. He's…someone I used to work with while I was away from the village. And since I know you're going to ask, the answer is no – I don't know why he's attacking Konoha. There's no logical explanation for what he's doing."

Naruto pulled a map of Konoha out of his vest and spread it out on the ground in front of everyone. "Now, the forces that Anubis commands are called the Minions of Set. They number around five hundred, and most of them are about chūnin level with a few jōnin mixed in. They'll be divided up into ten groups of fifty, more than likely attacking central or important sectors of Konoha. I'm guessing these nine points here…" He stabbed the map at various locations with his finger and continued, "With the strongest group protecting Anubis in the central part of the village near the Hospital in sector four."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said, "That's…actually very impressive, Naruto. But what makes you think the attacking squads would be so evenly spaced out, with the strongest force remaining in the middle? Frankly, it seems overly basic and even a genin fresh from the academy could think up a better plan of attack."

Naruto smirked and said, "Anubis is a symmetry freak. Everything he does has to be even and perfect, even if it means sacrificing the lives of his followers in the end."

He pointed at the map again. "Okay, I need you to have the following people engage the enemy squads. Sector one should be Kakashi-sensei and an elite group of ANBU. Sectors two and three can be handled by the Hyūga clan, since they have two houses and can cover more territory. Sector five goes to Choji and the Akimichi clan, and I'll need Kiba and the Inuzuka clan to cover sectors six and eleven. Sasuke gets sector seven, while Lee and Hinata take sector eight. Shino and the Aburame clan get sector nine, and make sure Tsunade stays at the hospital to defend it and take care of the incoming wounded. Since the strongest fighters will be concentrated in sector four, I need Guy-sensei and Kurenai-sensei there, and I'm going to take care of sector ten on my own. Each group will be supported by as many chūnin as we can spare."

Shikamaru noticed that Naruto had called Tsunade by her name and not baa-chan, which meant he was upset with her for some reason. He filed that bit of information away to think about later and said, "What about Neji and Tenten?"

The look on his face became hard and Naruto said, "They stay where they are in the Hyūga compound and defend Hikaru. End of discussion. I'll pick up the slack on the battlefield because of their absence."

Shikamaru immediately understood the message Naruto was conveying with the tone of his voice – _Hikaru will be protected at all costs, and Kami help anyone who fails to do so.  
_

"Now, it's very important that you tell our security forces to avoid being injured by the weapons the Minions of Set are wielding. It will only make things more difficult and the consequences could be dire for everyone if that happens."

"Any particular reason for that?"

Naruto rubbed his temples and said, "The reason Anubis is so feared is because he knows a…special jutsu that he uses on his followers. The long and short is that unless you burn the bodies, he can reanimate them at any time to attack you. And it's not an Edo Tensei, but more like they're marionettes and he's the one pulling the strings. Strength is increased but they know nothing beyond the desire to rip the enemy to shreds. You can cut off the head, and the body still comes at you. If you take out the legs, it will crawl across the ground to inflict damage on anything it can reach."

Shikimaru said, "It sounds a lot like the Puppet Technique that Lady Chiyo and Kankuro could do, but there doesn't have to be a direct line of sight to control them. He can do it simply from the presence of his chakra in their bodies alone. Am I right?"

Naruto nodded. "Essentially, they're an army of the dead. Even more frightening is that the sword each follower carries is infused with his chakra, and if they cut you it will slowly corrupt you and overpower your free will. It infects you like a virus, and you basically turn into a mindless drone with no concept of right or wrong, friend or foe, existing only to do his bidding. I'm not sure how he does it, but one thing I do know that the only way to stop it before it completely takes over is to eliminate Anubis himself."

Ino blanched. "So what you're saying is that unless we reduce them to ashes, we're going up against an enemy that can't be defeated? How the hell are we going to fight against something like this?"

"We kill without reproach, Ino. The most important part is burning the bodies – every piece – because if we don't, Anubis can use them to continually attack our forces. Injury by sword will only increase his ranks, so in the off chance that does happen I won't have very long to take out Anubis – the amount of time will vary depending on the severity of the wound. After that, the chakra corruption will be complete and we run the risk of the damage from it becoming permanent."

Wide eyed, Hinata looked at him and said, "Naruto-kun, this man sounds very dangerous. Are you certain that you can defeat him if you have to?"

He smirked and said, "I'm sure he's not going to make it easy for me, but yes I can. Besides, according to what you told Hikaru I'm the greatest ninja that ever lived – isn't that right?"

Hinata paled and looked away, nodding at the subtle hint he was giving her.

He looked back at Shikamaru and said, "Make sure every sector has someone that can use fire jutsu to burn the bodies. If you need to, have Sasuke hop between sectors two, three, seven and eight while Kakashi-sensei handles sectors one and five. I'll be available to help with the rest since I can travel the fastest. Once that's done I need everyone, especially Kakashi-sensei to get to sector four and take out the remaining force there, but make sure that no one – I repeat, NO ONE – engages Anubis unless they have a death wish. I'm the only one who knows how to take him down permanently. Understand?"

They all nodded, impressed with his leadership abilities but none more so than Shikamaru. He mentally revised his assessment of his friend and classmate, realizing that he wasn't the dim-witted baka from when they were kids. Maybe after this was over, he could challenge Naruto to a game of Shogi.

Naruto turned and said, "I have to go, Hinata. Good luck and please be careful." He tapped the back of his hand. "If you get into trouble, let me know and I'll be there to protect you."

She smiled and briefly kissed him. "You be careful as well, Naruto-kun. And I…I meant what I said earlier. I love you very much."

He returned her smile and said, "I love you too, Hinata-hime. But don't think that because of what's happening you're off the hook. I still have questions I want answered when we're done here, and you and your…accomplices are going to tell me what I want to know."

She pressed her lips together and nodded in understanding. The important thing was that she finally knew he loved her, and that's all she ever wanted. As long as she had that, she could endure anything he might say or do – at least she hoped that was the case.

Naruto leaped off towards the south end of Konoha, while Hinata turned to head west. Shikamaru watched them go, suddenly thinking about Temari and their relationship. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and sighed before saying, "Okay, Ino. I don't know how much time we have, but we've already wasted too much of it. I need you to contact everyone using your Mind Body Transmission technique and don't break contact until I say so."

She nodded and placed her hand on his forehead, closing her eyes in concentration. After a moment he felt his consciousness expand, informing him that the connection was active.

"This message is for the Hokage, ANBU and any other jōnin level ninja within range of this transmission. As you may have surmised, the village is under attack and based on information recently brought to my attention, I've determined the threat to be level five at minimum with possible moderate loss of civilian life. However, casualties can be minimized if you listen carefully to my instructions…"

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 1*****_

Kakashi and a squad of elite ANBU had just finished listening to the assessment of the situation from Shikamaru and silently agreed with his counterattack strategy. He turned around to look at the masks of the men surrounding him and said, "You heard him. Right now, Shikamaru is in charge and we're responsible for defeating the group in this sector. Let's move."

One of the ANBU stopped him and said, "Lord Hokage, I must object to this. As leader of Konoha, you should be the one in charge of this operation. Also, please remember that our sworn duty is to protect you, even at the cost of our lives. I would ask that you remain here in the tower and allow us to handle this threat personally."

He looked at the one responsible for the statement. "You seem to be new here. What's your name?"

"It's Sparrow, Lord Hokage."

"Okay Sparrow, let me ask you a question. Did you fight in the fourth shinobi war?"

She shook her head no.

"Then let me remind you of a few things. First of all, Shikamaru is far smarter than I am and because of that, he saved thousands of lives during the war. He's much more qualified than me to lead the counterattack and I'm leaving him in charge. Second of all, I'm well aware that I'm the Hokage, but it's my job to protect Konoha in times like this and as a former ANBU captain myself, I'm certainly not above getting my hands dirty in defense of the village. Third, I haven't had a good fight in years and this is the perfect opportunity to blow off some steam against an opponent that's attacking my home. And fourth…" His voice took on a menacing tone, and the air around him dropped several degrees as he finished, "…do you really think you could stop me if I was determined to go?"

She swallowed hard and said, "N..No, Lord Hokake."

"That's what I thought." He looked at the rest of the ANBU and said, "The next person who utters something that stupid will be put on permanent duty catching Tora for the Daimyo's wife. Are we clear?"

They all quickly nodded in agreement.

Kakashi eye smiled and said, "Good. Now, let's get going. There are enemies to kill and bodies to burn, and we don't have much time left to accomplish this before Naruto needs me at the center of the village."

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 7*****_

With an emotionless look on his face, Sasuke charged the remaining eighteen Minions. As the first three stepped forward to intercept him, he slowly unsheathed Kusanagi and channeled some lightning chakra through the blade. He swung downward, cutting the first man in half diagonally from his shoulder to his chest before reversing the blade and slashing the next one in half at the waist. Both men paused for a moment, their faces still in shock before the pieces slowly slid apart, spilling blood and entrails over the ground.

Despite the gruesome scene before him, the third man jumped over the pieces of his former comrades and raised his sword high, planning to attack Sasuke with a simple overhead strike. Snorting in disappointment, he easily caught the man's wrist and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him on his back into the ground before driving Kusanagi through his heart.

Sasuke turned around to look at the remaining men and said, "You and your leader couldn't have come to the village at a better time. You see, I have a pregnant wife at home who's loud and rather irritating at the moment, and every day for the past couple of months she's gotten a little more irritating and a whole lot louder. I'm sympathetic to her plight, since she is carrying my child but due to her condition I have no one to take my daily frustrations out on."

"And that's where you guys come in. I'm not sure where you learned how to fight, but your skills are abysmal and honestly not worth my time. If it weren't for the fact that I knew you would kill innocent people, I wouldn't even bother fighting you. But regardless of her current attitude I do have the safety of my wife to consider, along with all of my friends and the villagers."

He activated the Mangekyo Sharingan and formed Susanoo around him. The remaining Minions of Set looked at the apparition and their faces showed the slightest hint of fear as he said, "Blaze Release: Susanoo Kagutsuchi."

A blade of black fire formed in the right hand of Susanoo and he swung it down into the group of men, engulfing them in unquenchable black flames as he burned them alive, until they were nothing but charred piles of soot. Sasuke dispersed his Susanoo and watched the ashes blow away before contacting Shikamaru.

_Sector seven will be clear in a minute. I have six bodies to burn and then I can move on. Where do you need me next?_

He heard Shikamaru respond in his mind. _Head to sector eight. The enemy presence there has almost been dealt with by Hinata and Lee, and we need you to incinerate the bodies. After that, you and Hinata get to sectors two and three and assist the Hyūga clan with the disposal. Make it quick, because we need you in sector four within fifteen minutes._

_Understood._ He swiftly piled the remaining corpses in a barren area and lit them on fire. He watched them burn for a few moments before moving on, satisfied with his handiwork – as well as feeling a little bit better, since he was able to take his wrath out on something other than a tree for a change.

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 8*****_

Lee ducked under the man's blade, letting it sail over him before rising back up and catching him in a vicious uppercut. As the man sailed upwards, he jumped to meet him with his leg lifted high and hit him with a devastating overhead kick, launching the Minion back into the ground before landing beside him. Lee grabbed the top and bottom of his head, twisting it violently and snapping the man's neck, killing him instantly.

He looked around and surveyed the battlefield, noticing that there were only a handful of men left to defeat. Six of the men were being engaged by their chūnin support squad, and they were fortunate to have the advantage of numbers and surrounded them, quickly wearing them down. Nodding in approval to himself, he decided to turn his attention elsewhere since they appeared to have the situation well in hand.

Unfortunately, this group had a large amount that seemed to be above chūnin level – more like tokubetsu jōnin instead – which made them much more difficult to kill. According to the information Shikamaru continued to relay to them via Ino and her Mind Body Transmission technique, the strongest groups belonged to them and Kiba, whereas the weakest groups had attacked Sasuke and Shino. While Lee normally would have relished fighting against such strong opponents, he also realized what was on the line if someone got injured by their weapons and he vowed not to let that happen.

Hinata had killed at least a dozen men with well-placed jyuuken strikes to their hearts, but she was running low on chakra and had switched to using her katana. However, Hinata was struggling with it, since it wasn't her weapon of choice and she hadn't trained extensively for using it in battle, while the men they were facing seemed very skilled in the use of theirs.

As Lee watched, Hinata began to bear down on the man she was fighting, finally gaining the upper hand. She was focused so much on defeating him that she failed to notice a second man appear behind her, ready to strike her down with an overhead slash and Lee remembered Shikamaru specifically saying bad things would happen if anyone received an injury from the oddly shaped swords.

Without thought, he quickly opened the first gate and launched himself at Hinata, tackling her so that when the sword came down, the man hit nothing but empty air. They landed several yards away before Lee set Hinata back down on her feet.

"Thank you for saving my life, Lee. I didn't even notice that man behind me, and I'm glad that…"

Her eyes became wide as she stopped mid-sentence. He followed her gaze and noticed a small cut on his arm, no more than two inches in length with very shallow bleeding.

"Lee! You…You've been hurt! They injured you with one of their swords – we need to get you to the hospital right away!"

Lee smiled, knowing exactly what the wound meant and what would eventually happen to him unless Anubis was defeated. "It's okay, Hinata…I shall fight against our enemy with every breath I have left, and I will leave this life the same way I have lived it – with my flames of youth shining brightly! Yosh!"

As Hinata and Lee prepared to meet the remaining men head on, a voice came forth from the surrounding forest and said, "Amaterasu."

The last handful of men were instantly engulfed in black flames, and they screamed as the flesh charred and slowly melted from their bodies. The remaining chūnin took a step back as Sasuke walked out into the clearing, his eyes showing the Mangekyo Sharingan with Kusanagi held in front of him.

"I heard what you just said, Hinata. Get Lee to the hospital immediately, and I'll let Shikamaru know what happened so he can relay the information to Naruto. The chūnin can finish up here while I move on to sector three to assist the Hyūga clan with the body disposal. You don't have much time, so move it."

As Hinata and Lee leapt off in the direction of the hospital, Sasuke contacted Shikimaru once again. _Just arrived in sector eight, the enemy presence here is burning as we speak. I have sent Hinata and Lee to the hospital; Lee received a small cut on his left forearm so we have to speed up the timetable for defeating Anubis. I'm leaving this sector in the hands of the chūnin on site and moving on to sector three as planned._

_Under normal circumstances I'd agree Sasuke, but I just received word that Sakura is experiencing severe pain in her lower abdomen and needs medical assistance. Head back home and get her to the hospital, while I send Kakashi over to sector three to assist the Hyūga clan._

_Okay. Tell Sakura I'm on my way and let Naruto know about Lee. Hopefully he doesn't turn Anubis and the center of the village into a smoking crater when he learns about what happened. _

He heard Shikamaru laughing in his head at that last statement. Sasuke looked at the pile of bodies that the men were piling in the center of the clearing and remarked, "You know, you guys may possibly be the stupidest fucking people I've ever met. Because even though the death I had planned for you would make a normal man cringe, I shudder to think about how Naruto is going to kill Anubis when he finds that Lee was injured saving the life of Hinata."

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 6*****_

"Piercing Fang!"

Kiba hit the Minion full force in his chest, his claws ripping the man apart while Akamaru ripped the throat out of the man next to him with his jaws. They turned around and saw six more men slowly advancing on them, swords held low as they eyed him warily.

Kiba immediately surveyed the situation, noticing that several other clan members were busy with their groups. These men seemed highly skilled; definitely jōnin level and all of them were highly skilled with theirs. It was a miracle that none of them had been cut yet, and hopefully that luck wouldn't run out soon.

Kiba looked at the men around him and said, "You guys are really a pain in my ass, you know that? If you think you're gonna take me and Akamaru down that easily, you're crazy. I'll rip your fucking nuts off and feed them to you first."

The men smirked at his comments before one of them spoke. "Your words are hollow, insolent worm. Our leader cannot be stopped, and once this village is under his control he will reward us for our loyal service."

"So you're nothing more than a flock of sheep, following the shepherd around aimlessly wherever he leads you? You don't have an individual thought in those tiny brains of yours? He doesn't give a shit about any of you, I guarantee it. And besides, he's got no chance of making it out of here alive. He pissed off my friend and threatened his family, and that's never a good idea."

The men didn't bother to answer, but instead charged him en masse. Realizing that he needed an attack that greatly increased his speed and power, Kiba performed some hand signs and shouted, "Inuzuka Style: Man Beast Transformation Combo!"

As the smoke cleared, a large two-headed wolf stood where Kiba and Akamaru had been. It bared its teeth and leapt at the nearest man, slashing through his stomach and spilling his entrails over the ground. Faster than the men could think, the wolf wheeled and ripped out the throat of another before disemboweling a third.

The remaining three men acted out of sheer preservation instinct, swinging their swords wildly in an effort to inflict even a small wound upon the insane duo. Dodging expertly, the wolf avoided the initial strikes and hamstrung another man, causing him to collapse on the ground before pinning him with his front paw and tearing out the back of his neck, paralyzing him instantly.

However, it was the extra time spent immobilizing the man that was ultimately the wolf's undoing.

As he felt the sword slicing through the air behind him, the wolf jumped to the side but not before he received a tiny cut from one of the swords. Despite the fact that the wound was so small, he yelped in pain and the transformation was dispersed, showing Kiba lying next to Akamaru who bore the cut that had just happened on his left hind leg.

Smirking, the two men began to advance on him – and managed to get all of three steps before being mauled to death by his Inuzuka packmates.

Sighing in relief, Kiba contacted Shikamaru. _We just finished with sector six. Akamaru got cut so I'm getting him to Hana for treatment. You need to get someone over here to burn up what we've got because the chūnin we had that could do fire jutsu has been killed._

Shikamaru responded back. _Roger that. I just received a communication from Sasuke that Lee was injured, and is heading for the hospital as well. Based on this, we need every able body to meet Naruto in sector four to fight Anubis and the remaining Minions of Set. Get Akamaru to Hana as fast as you can, and then head to the center of the village. I'll let Naruto know what happened and he'll meet you there. Remember, you have free reign to take down the Minions but do NOT engage Anubis under any circumstances._

Kiba snorted. _You couldn't drag me away from that fight. They hurt Akamaru and someone needs to pay. Big time._ And with that, he scooped up his companion and took off running, hoping that Naruto could defeat Anubis before Akamaru was lost to him forever.

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 10*****_

Naruto wore a savage grin on his face as he pushed out a massive amount of killing intent, laughing with glee while he decapitated three more Minions with his Khopesh sword. He was still enveloped within his chakra cloak, and three tails swayed behind him as he reached out to touch the body parts that littered the dirt around him, incinerating them instantly and turning them to dust.

He knew that he was drowning in bloodlust, but right now he didn't care. After everything that had happened to him over the past week, he felt that he was entitled to some anger relief – and it was nice to sink his teeth into something more substantial than the diversion Ami no Shirokusa had provided.

The minions scurried around the clearing, trying to hide from his wrath but Naruto was too fast for them. Everywhere they turned he was there, and the look on his face would have made the Raikage cringe as he lopped of head after head, like someone harvesting stalks of wheat.

Just as he wrapped his tails around the last man and reduced him to a pile of ash, he heard Shikamaru in his head.

_Naruto, the current body count stands as ninety percent of all enemy forces NOT in the center of the village have been eliminated. However, we have a serious problem – there are reports of several people who have been injured by the Minions of Set, and among them are Lee and Akamaru. You need to get to the center of the village right now and fight Anubis._

Naruto felt a sudden tightening in his chest. _Lee was injured? Is he okay? What about Hinata, she was with him…is she alright?_

There was a pause before he answered. _Other than the injury, Lee is fine. He was…hurt protecting Hinata. If he hadn't pushed her out of the way, she might be dead right now._

Upon hearing those words, Naruto felt something click in his head and Kurama's chakra cloak flared anew. He ground his teeth at the thought of Hinata getting injured, and only one thought came to mind.

_He will suffer._

Somehow, Shikamaru could feel the massive amount of killing intent that Naruto was pushing out. _Naruto, you need to…_

_I don't need to do anything, Shikamaru. He almost killed Hinata, and she's my most precious person. So I'm going to make sure he suffers the most painful death I know how to dish out, and with his last breath he'll wish he never showed up in Konoha to threaten my friends and family. Tell Kakashi-sensei that if he's not at the center of the village in five minutes, I'll find him and kick his ass so bad, he won't be able to read his Icha-Icha novels for six months._

Another pause. _Okay, Naruto – I'll tell him. Just get there as soon as you can._

_Don't worry, Shikamaru. I have a Hiraishin seal at the hospital, so I'll be there in a flash._

Naruto looked around at what remained of the Minions of Set that littered sector ten and thought about what he'd said to the men who attacked him earlier that day…

'…_and that should give me more than enough time to find Anubis and turn him into a bloody smear on my boot.'_

Anubis had just upped the ante, so now he thought it was time to match his threat and make good on his promise from before.

After all, his nindō was that he never goes back on his word. _**Ever**_.

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* * *

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_*****SECTOR 4*****_

Naruto landed at the center of the village, and to his surprise the group of Minions had already been dealt with. Might Guy and Kurenai had already left, presumably to assist with defeating the rest of the invading forces. Shikamaru and Ino were waiting for him, while Kiba was sitting on the ground holding his side. Shino was standing in front of him, either trying to protect Kiba or keep him from doing something stupid – he couldn't tell which.

He walked up and asked, "Okay, I'm guessing Guy-sensei and Kurenai-sensei defeated the Minions and are now helping to eliminate any that might be left throughout the village, but what I'd like to know is why you're sitting on the ground looking like that Kiba?"

Kiba bared his teeth and gave Naruto an angry look. "Because that asshole and his freakshow army hurt Akamaru! You think I'm just gonna sit here and wait, and not take a chunk out of his hide for what he to my dog?"

Naruto gave him a hard look. "Damn it, Kiba – you've got a hard head sometimes. Did you ever stop to think that there's a reason why I told everyone not to attack him? It wasn't because I feel like hogging all the glory by taking down myself, it's because I knew you wouldn't be able to injure him and if you tried, you'd be weaker because of it. Am I right?"

The angry expression on Kiba's face vanished and he looked away, before Shino decided to answer for him. "You are correct, Naruto. And after witnessing Anubis brush off the attack from Kiba, the rest of us thought it would be wise to keep our distance and wait for you. Do you happen to know what technique he uses to accomplish this?"

"It's actually an S-rank jutsu called Blood Release. It was originally a Kekkei Genkai of the Sanguis Clan, but Anubis somehow found a way to copy it. Simply put, it allows him to absorb chakra from an opponent by touch and if the person is very low on chakra, it can actually draw out your life force as well and kill you. And once he has your chakra, he can use it for a variety of purposes – such as enhanced strength, speed or even healing – kind of like the Hyakugou that Tsunade and Sakura use. He can suck anyone he catches with it dry and turn them into a lifeless husk within a minute. That's what makes him so dangerous, and it's the reason why I told everyone to wait."

Kiba snorted and said, "Fine, you were right and I was wrong. So what are you gonna do about it? In addition to hurting Akamaru, those pricks also got Lee and almost killed Hinata. How are you gonna beat him if he can't be hurt?"

Naruto displayed a wicked grin, and his eyes turned the darkest blue they'd ever seen as he said, "Don't worry, Kiba…Not only do I know a jutsu that can take him down, but when I use it I promise he'll suffer worse than you can possibly imagine."

His friends could only stare at him with wide eyes and nod, slightly taken aback by the look on his face and his tone of voice. None of them had seen this side of Naruto before, and it sent a collective shiver down their spines.

"And where the fuck is Kakashi-sensei? I told him to meet me here."

Kakashi landed about ten feet away from him. "I'm right here, Naruto. No need to worry."

"Nice of you to join the party. Did you get lost on the road of life getting here?"

"Very funny. I got here as fast as I could." He walked over to stand next to him and asked, "Naruto, I need to know something…Are you okay?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because yesterday I saw that our copy of the file wasn't redacted anymore, and the contents were…enlightening, to say the least. I just want to make sure that you're still in control, and not planning on destroying various parts of Konoha because of it."

He chuckled and said, "No, I'm not going to do anything like that. But I know a few people who have a lot to answer for."

Kakashi nodded, satisfied with the answer. "So how about you tell me exactly why you needed me here?"

"Your Chidori attack – just how powerful can you make it?"

A little shocked by the question, Kakashi paused before he answered. "Well, I do have a stronger version of it called Raikiri. Why?"

"If you push it to the maximum, can you maintain it for at least five seconds?"

"It'll drain a good portion of my chakra but yes, I can."

"Good." He crossed his fingers and said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four shadow clones appeared in front of everyone, and three of them sat down to begin gathering natural energy while the fourth remained standing for a moment.

"I want you to hover on the outskirts of the fight. At some point I'm going to hit Anubis in your direction, and when I do I want you to use Raikiri on him with your fingers like this…" He demonstrated on the back of the clone and continued, "…on either side of the base of his spine."

"What exactly will that do?"

"It'll paralyze him for as long as you keep the jutsu going. It's actually a pretty handy technique, so you might want to remember it for the future in case you ever have someone that needs to be incapacitated and brought back to the village alive."

"And you want me to do this at my maximum power? Are you sure that won't kill him?"

Naruto smirked and said, "Not a chance. He's way too tough to be taken down by something like that, and your maximum power will probably be just enough to paralyze him so don't hold back. I only need him immobilized for about five seconds, since I have twenty hand signs that I need to go through for the jutsu I'm going to use."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow and asked, "And what exactly would that be?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Well, you asked me several months ago to show you one of my forbidden techniques so here's your chance. You can use your sharingan to copy this if you like, but I'm positive you don't have the chakra capacity to perform it. No offense."

"None taken, I guess."

"Now this is very important. Once I have Anubis within my jutsu, you need to immediately take your hands off of him and get the hell away from us both. If you're still touching him for longer than a couple of seconds when I hit him full force, you're going to get caught up in it and trust me when I say that you DON'T want that to happen."

Kakashi understood what Naruto was trying to tell him about how dangerous this jutsu was. He nodded and said, "Okay…I'll get to the opposite side of the clearing and wait for you to send him my way. Just be careful, Naruto. You've come a long way in the last few months in repairing the damage done to your personal life, and I think Hikaru needs know the truth of what happened just as much as you did."

His expression became hard and Naruto wore a determined look on his face. "I know, Kakashi-sensei. And before I forget, I just wanted to say thanks for keeping your promise and sending me to Nadeshiko village. It may not look like it, but I'm actually very grateful for what you did."

Kakashi met his gaze and thought he had never seen someone look so happy, and yet so sad at the same time.

As he walked past, Naruto turned his thoughts inward. _Kurama, I'm not going to use your chakra for this fight. If Anubis happens to get his hands on some of it, it'll only make things worse._

_**I agree, so I'll remain hidden deep within you. Although you've made me curious – how are you going to keep him from using the Blood Release jutsu at all?**_

_Simple. I'll use sage mode, and if he absorbs even a fraction of natural energy he'll turn into a stone frog. I'll tell him what to expect and it's up to him whether he believes me or not, but at the very least it will keep him honest about the fight._

_**Very clever, Naruto. Would you care to tell me how you plan on taking Anubis down?**_

_Sure. Remember that forbidden sound jutsu I learned about four years ago?_

Naruto could feel Kurama shudder inside his mind. _**Yes, I do. Even I find that technique to be rather vicious, but his followers did almost kill your mate so I guess the use of it is warranted.**_

_As far as I'm concerned it is. Besides, I'd rather not run the risk of him surviving the fight and this way, I know he's never coming back. _

Naruto reached the center of the clearing and said, "Hello, Anubis. Care to tell me what the hell you're doing in Konoha?"

Anubis nodded and said, "Hello, Gabriel. It's been some time since we've seen each other – almost three years, if I remember correctly. And to answer your question, I'm here for retribution."

"Retribution against who, exactly? This village hasn't done anything that would warrant an attack on a scale like yours, and I'm quite surprised that Saladin approved of it in the first place."

"Saladin is no longer my leader, as I now follow another. And the village isn't my target for justice. You are."

"Me? What exactly am I guilty of?"

"You're guilty of killing my husband and our unborn child."

Naruto turned in the direction of the voice, and saw a woman emerge from the shadows. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Lady Kamira? In what way are you involved with this?"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at him with unfathomable hatred. "I'm the one who hired Anubis and that cult of his to attack Konoha. You, along with everyone you've ever known or loved are going to die, except for the two most important things in your life – your wife and son. Anubis wants to keep her as his personal plaything and your son will be his disciple."

"If you honestly think I'm going to allow that to happen, you're just as delusional and insane as your husband was."

She screamed her answer at him, practically frothing at the mouth as she spat the words. "Don't you _**DARE**_ talk about him like that! My husband was a great man!"

Naruto snorted. "Your husband was a sadomasochistic pig who enjoyed torturing innocent men, women and children to satisfy his twisted sexual fantasies. The world is better off without him in it, and the fact that you fail to realize how sick an individual he was makes me regret my decision to let you live in the first place. And while we're on the subject, when you say 'unborn child' does that mean you were pregnant with that sadistic fuck's offspring at some point?"

She pointed at him and yelled, "Yes! I was pregnant with our first child when you chose to attack and kill my husband. The stress of losing him caused me to miscarry the one person who could carry on his legacy – AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Naruto sarcastically said, "Gee…how unfortunate. I'm all broken up about that. Why don't you tell me where they buried what was left of him and I'll send over a bouquet of dead flowers to show how much I don't care."

Before Kamira had a chance to answer, Anubis cut her off with a gesture. "You need to be silent, female. I will speak from here on out." He looked at Naruto and said, "Well, Gabriel – am I to assume that you and your friends have been systematically eliminating my Minions since the initial attack on your dwelling?"

"That's right, Anubis. And if I had to guess, I'd say that ninety-five percent of them have been turned to dust and scattered across the wind by now." The corner of his mouth turned up and he asked, "You didn't think I'd leave them around to be controlled by you, did you?"

Anubis scowled. "That was an unwise decision, Gabriel. It will take some time to…recruit new followers. Perhaps after I kill you, I'll just use the shinobi of this village to replenish my personal guard."

"Since you're so confident about killing me, how about we raise the stakes?"

"Very well, I'm listening."

"We keep things simple and have a fight to the death." Naruto removed the Khopesh sword from his back and threw it away. "I won't use any weapons to attack you, and you won't use your Blood Release jutsu. Either you kill me and claim all of Konoha as your prize, or I kill you and turn you into a smear on the bottom of my boot."

"And what makes you think I'll agree not to use the Blood Release jutsu?"

"Because of this." He dispelled one of his clones and entered sage mode. "This is a form you've never seen before, where I've basically mastered using nature energy. Don't be fooled, though - it's hard stuff to control, and if you don't know how to do it you'll just turn into a stone statue."

"You're bluffing."

"You really think so? Then you're welcome to take some and try to control it, if you want." He held out his hand and continued, "I won't even put up a fight if you do, because it will only make my job easier, and honestly I'll enjoy watching you petrify in the space of about one minute."

Anubis narrowed his eyes and thought about that for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. It could be an elaborate lie, however if he took him up on his offer and it turned out to be true, he'll have chosen his own demise. He decided the risk was far too great to chance it.

"Fine, I accept your terms. We will fight to the death, and the winner takes all. Neither of us will use elemental jutsu or weapons to attack the other, and I agree to forgo my use of the Blood Release jutsu. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal. But just so you know, I'll be staying in sage mode during the fight because I don't trust you one bit."

Naruto pushed out a massive amount of killing intent as he dropped into his fighting stance, causing everyone in the vicinity of the upcoming fight to tremble under the pressure of it.

Anubis pushed out his own killing intent and dropped into his own fighting stance, however it was immediately apparent to everyone that Naruto was giving out far more killing intent than his opponent, and they hoped it meant that their friend had the advantage.

The two of them circled each other, waiting for someone to make the first move and begin the fight. After a minute, Naruto decided to goad Anubis into throwing the first punch. He casually sniffed the air and said, "Wow, can you smell that? I believe that odor coming from you is fear. Either that, or you've just pissed your pants – it's hard to tell the difference. Care to enlighten me as to which one it is?"

That did it. Anubis bared his teeth and launched himself at Naruto, quickly striking at his chest. Naruto blocked it and spun, landing a blow to the neck of Anubis and throwing him forward. But even though he was off balance, Anubis lashed out with a backwards kick, catching Naruto in his left knee and making him stagger backward, putting some distance between the two of them.

They faced each other again, once more waiting for someone to make the first move. This time, Naruto struck out and caught Anubis with a right cross to his jaw, before following that up with a left uppercut. At the last moment Anubis dodged to his right and punched Naruto in his right side, launching him back several feet.

Anubis swirled his tongue around in his mouth and spit out a molar. "You're stronger than you look, Gabriel. That punch actually caused me to lose one of my teeth. I'll have to remember to replace that with one of yours."

Naruto winced as he smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Anubis. You might have broken a rib with that last strike. I always knew you were strong, but it's a shame you don't have the brains to go along with your brawn."

"Who needs brains when you have power? Power gains respect. Power garners the favors of beautiful women. Power means money to do anything I want."

"And where do you think you're going to get it? There's no way you can be that delusional, thinking you sit all alone at the top of the food chain."

Anubis smirked and said, "My leader has promised it to me if I follow him, and I know he will deliver on his promise because he cannot be defeated. It has been foreseen that he will rule all of the elemental nations."

"And yet you haven't told me who this 'leader' of yours is, although you did say that it isn't Saladin. You're kidding yourself if you think someone out there can defeat him, though. He didn't get his name by picking it out of a hat – he's the strongest of us for a reason, and I think you and your leader have forgotten that."

"And YOU forget that no one is unassailable – not even Saladin."

Naruto suddenly disappeared from view, before reappearing behind Anubis and launching an elbow at the back of his head. Anubis ducked and let the blow sail over him while smashing his elbow into the chest of Naruto, striking the same side as before and causing him to wince in pain. Naruto suddenly realized that when he told Kurama to stay deep within him, it would slow down his ability to heal quickly and that this fight might end up causing him more damage than he originally thought.

Naruto ran forward and performed a backwards flip so that he faced in the opposite direction, and noticed that Anubis was running right behind him. He immediately stopped and kicked straight up, catching Anubis in the chin and launching him skyward.

Running out of nature energy, Naruto dispelled his second clone while crossing his fingers in front of him and shouting, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Six shadow clones appeared in the air, each kicking Anubis higher into the air as they chanted,

"U…zu...ma...ki...BARRAGE!"

As he shouted the final word, the last clone delivered a devastating overhead axe kick to the head of Anubis, rocketing him back down to earth and embedding his body a foot deep in the ground.

Even though he could have launched a follow-up attack, Naruto cautiously stayed several yards away and waited for Anubis to make the next move. The man was far too dangerous, and he refused to give Anubis any opening that he could possibly exploit.

As Anubis extracted himself from the ground, he stood up and staggered a bit, still woozy from the impact of the attack. "Very impressive, Gabriel. That actually hurt me a bit, but I'm guessing you haven't gone unscathed during our skirmish either. Feeling a little sore yourself?"

"Even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. That would mean that I actually cared about what you had to say." And he launched himself at Anubis again, quickly trading blows with him and trying to get in one powerful, lucky strike.

Naruto caught Anubis with a right cross to his face, leaving himself wide open to the counterattack of a fist to the stomach from Anubis, launching him up in the air a bit. Anubis grabbed his arm and flipped him over his shoulder and slammed him into the ground, thinking he might have stunned his opponent but Naruto threw a kick backwards and hit Anubis in the face, causing him to back away for a second while Naruto regained his footing and put some distance between them.

While he waited for the next attack, Naruto had a nagging feeling that something was off with this fight. Anubis was never one to keep his distance and evaluate his options during a battle, but rather he charged in blindly to overpower and pummel his opponent with his strength and forbidden jutsu. While Naruto had eliminated the chance of him using the Blood Release technique, his overall strategy should have remained the same, so why the sudden change? What could he possibly hope to gain, unless…

It suddenly dawned on him that Anubis was trying to stretch this fight out, giving his chakra time to corrupt and overpower the mind of everyone his followers had injured, bringing them under his control and hopefully sway the outcome of the attack on the village. He needed to end this soon, or else his friends might not make it through the night.

Naruto bit his thumb and pulled out a scroll, jumping into the air and unfurling it. He swiped some blood across the length of it and caused a couple dozen kunai to rain over the battlefield. None of them actually hit Anubis, but stuck at random points in the ground throughout the clearing.

Anubis snorted and said, "I thought we agreed not to use any weapons, Gabriel. Are you planning to break our agreement and attack me with these?"

"No, I'm not breaking our agreement and I don't plan on attacking you with these kunai. If you take a closer look at them, you'll notice they're actually quite special."

Anubis looked at the one closest to him and noticed that it had three prongs and there was a seal carved into the handle.

"Interesting design. What do you hope to accomplish with these?"

Naruto dispersed his last clone, recharging his sage mode before disappearing in a flash of yellow light. He reappeared on the other side of the battlefield and said, "This is what I hope to accomplish." He ran full speed at Anubis, before disappearing again.

And then he suddenly appeared before Anubis, driving his fist into his stomach. Before Anubis had a chance to react to the blow, Naruto reappeared behind him, slamming his fist into his spine and launching him forward. He continued this method of assault, giving Anubis no time to react or perform a counterstrike as he appeared from all sides around Anubis, hammering him with sage enhanced blows, attempting to soften him up for the final attack.

Anubis could do nothing except defend himself, since the attacks were too fast to follow. With his arms crossed in front of his face, he continued to take a beating from every angle, hoping that his opponent would wear himself out soon and leave an opening for him to exploit.

However, that moment never came as Naruto appeared in front of him suddenly and drove a fist directly into his chest, throwing his former Mienai Segi teammate backwards several yards, almost to the edge of the clearing.

Naruto stopped, bringing his hands together and shouted, "NOW, SENSEI!"

Kakashi emerged from the darkness with a Raikiri in his right hand. He ripped the shirt off of the back of Anubis and placed two fingers on either side of the base of his spine, pushing out the maximum amount of power he could manage, just as Naruto had instructed him to do.

The effect was immediate, as Anubis went rigid, unable to move as the electricity from the attack paralyzed him. Everyone watched as his body twitched uncontrollably, as if he were in the thralls of a seizure.

As soon as Kakashi started his attack, Naruto raised his chakra level to the maximum and began running towards Anubis, quickly flashing through hand signs…

_Ram, Dragon, Ox, Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Rat, Bird, Monkey, Bird…_

Kakashi was tempted at the moment to use his sharingan and copy the technique, but keeping his Raikiri at the maximum level was using every ounce of concentration and chakra he had left. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he struggled to maintain it while he watched Naruto finish the remaining hand signs...

_Ox, Ram, Boar, Bird, Horse, Snake, Dog, Dragon, Tiger, Dragon…_

At the completion of the last hand sign, he pushed out a tremendous amount of killing intent that made everyone in the vicinity shudder before slamming his palms into the chest of Anubis and shouting, _**"FORBIDDEN ART: UNSTABLE RESONANCE!"**_

Kakashi removed his hand from the back of Anubis as jumped back from them fast as he could. Shino and the others watched Naruto from the far side of the clearing, wondering what he was doing to Anubis until Kiba screamed and slapped his hands over his ears.

They all looked at each other, confused at the action until Shikamaru suddenly went pale and yelled out, "Everyone! Get your hands over your ears right now!"

They all obeyed, wondering why he ordered them to do so until a sound began to leak through their fingers, growing louder with each passing second. It was a horrifying, gut wrenching sound that sent shivers down their spine and out to every corner of their body. It was unlike anything they'd ever heard before, but the best comparison would be the sound of metal grinding against metal, mixed with fingernails being raked across a chalkboard.

They watched as the jutsu continued to ravage Anubis, unable to control his body as it flailed about. Whatever was happening to the man seemed to be on another level of pain – not one that simply strikes at an individual part of your body but rather an all-encompassing, crucifying fatality that slowly permeates every part of your being. Helpless against the technique, Anubis couldn't move or scream, only able to stare straight ahead into the eyes of his opponent.

After several seconds, they all noticed that the outline of Anubis began to blur and shimmer. The sound that had been torturing them grew ever louder, clawing at their eardrums – and then unexpectedly, Anubis screamed in unbearable agony before exploding into a cloud of red mist about twenty feet in diameter.

An eerie silence came over the clearing as the crimson fog slowly fell to the ground. Naruto turned around and began to walk back to where his friends were waiting, making it almost three steps before a voice rang out…

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

He peered over his shoulder and saw Lady Kamira with a savage look on her face, frothing at the mouth and screaming at him in rage. "Don't think you've escaped my wrath, Gabriel! You might have beaten that worm I hired to kill you, but this isn't over by any means! I'll find and hire someone else, and then I'll attack this village again! Everyone here will suffer and die because of you, and the life of your wife and son WILL be forfeit…"

That was as far as she got before everyone saw a chidori emerge from her chest. Shocked, she stared wide eyed at it for a moment as she tried to draw a breath, before a fountain of blood erupted from her mouth.

A second later her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell forward, revealing Kakashi standing behind her. He deactivated his chidori and looked at Naruto. "No charge for that. And you're welcome." Then he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto turned back around, intending to join his friends but a thought came to mind and he paused for a moment, dragging his boot across a patch of ground that was still covered with the remains of his former Mienai Segi associate. He lifted the bottom and inspected it, nodding in satisfaction before he resumed his walk across the clearing.

His friends stared at him in horror as he approached; their eyes wide as they noticed his clothes and face were soaked in blood, thinking that if death were to take a human form it would look just like their friend coming towards them right now.

They all remained silent, unsure of what to say until Kiba decided to speak. "Naruto, what…what the fuck did you just do to that guy? That sound was the most horrifying thing I've ever heard. And what the hell was that thing you just did with your boot?"

Naruto wiped some of the blood from his face and said, "Well, I promised Anubis at the beginning of this fight that if I killed him, he'd end up as a smear on the bottom of my boot. And everyone knows that I never go back on my promises. Right?"

Dumbfounded, they all nodded at him in agreement.

"And as far as the jutsu I just used on him, I basically just made every cell in his body vibrate at a different frequency. The sound you heard was a side effect from that."

Everyone paled upon hearing the words and their jaws dropped, except for Kiba who said, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Shino, Shikamaru – can you explain it to him for me? I'm going home to clean up before heading to the hospital. I don't think it'll be a good idea for me to show up there looking like this." And with those words, he vanished in a flash of yellow light.

Dumbfounded, he looked at Shino and said, "Okay. You wanna tell me what the hell he just did to that guy?"

"Kiba, let me explain this to you in a way you'll understand. You profess to have a better sense of hearing than any one of us here at the present moment, correct?"

He nodded in agreement.

"Have you ever been around a group of people singing in perfect harmony? To a person with such an enhanced sense of hearing, how does that sound?"

"It actually sounds really good." He gave Shino a confused look and asked, "Where are you going with this?"

Shino held up a finger. "Just follow my line of thinking. So if the sound is really good, would you want to stay and continue to listen to it?"

"Sure. Who wouldn't?"

"Okay, now imagine the opposite was true. You were around a group of people, and every one of them was singing off-key and in complete disharmony. What would you do then?"

Kiba raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, I'd want to get as far away from them as fast as I could. Why?"

"Remember what Naruto just said. The jutsu he just used on Anubis made every cell in his body vibrate at a different frequency – like they were all singing out of tune with each other. So using the same analogy, that means…"

Just like everyone else, Kiba turned pale and said, "That every part of his body…ran away from everything else."

Shikamaru nodded. "Naruto just ripped Anubis apart at a cellular level. That's where the sound came from, and that's why he turned into a gigantic could of vapor. There probably isn't enough of him left to soak up with a sponge, and I'd say that his statement about Anubis suffering worse than we could possibly imagine was spot on. I can't think of a more brutal way to kill someone than that."

They all looked at each other, stunned at what they had just witnessed. While the old Naruto that everyone knew wouldn't hurt a fly if he didn't have to, the Naruto everyone saw tonight had no problems killing those who hurt his precious people in ways that would make Ibiki Morino cringe.

_**Believe it.**_

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A/N: Okay, so I know that everyone was waiting for some explanation regarding Hikaru, and you didn't see anything in this chapter that moved that part of the story forward – but that's because the entire next chapter will be devoted to clearing up that mystery. I know you guys want to see it and I'll push it out as fast as I can, but just don't expect it within a week or so.

I also plan on explaining the whole Mienai Segi thing next chapter – particularly, the names. I'm almost positive I'll get some reviews or PM's that ask about "Gabriel", "Anubis" and "Saladin". There's a reason for all that and you'll find that out because it will be essential for what I plan on writing in future chapters.

I really had a hard time writing this chapter; I must have redone it about a half dozen times because every time I wrote something it just didn't seem to flow correctly. I also didn't want it to be too long, and it still turned out bigger than any other chapter I did which not only shocked me, but also told me how much time and energy I put into this thing. This exhausted me mentally and hopefully I won't have to do this again for awhile. Writing lemon scenes is far easier than this thing was.

_**Credit where credit is due: **_Wanted to make sure that credit is given for the idea about using the Raikiri as a taser to paralyze an opponent. That little idea came from the head of fellow author **Third Fang**, so kudos to him.

_**Recommendation time!**_ Okay, I wasn't going to give one this chapter but I neglected to do so last time. But I thought a little bit of opposite fun might be good for a change so I'm going to mention a small story called **The Ring That Binds** by **softwinds**. It's only six chapters long, but if you'd like to read a short, romantic NaruHina story then check it out. The author is from Malaysia but once again I'm impressed with how well the story is written so give it a read and leave a review if you like it. Hopefully it will help churn out the next chapter, because it was left on a little bit of a cliffhanger and I'd like to see the next one.

Here's the link; just remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:

www . fanfiction . *** / u / 2363385 / softwinds

So what's coming up? Next chapter will be titled "Tell Me Why", and I'm sure you can all figure out what it will be about. A lot will be revealed when it comes out, there will be surprises all around and future plot twists to boot. So please do me a favor and leave a review – I wasn't kidding when I said they help me write, as I sacrificed quite a bit these last few weeks to get this one done but the words of my followers drove me on when writer's block threatened to take me down. So keep it up let's see more of them!

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

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Serious Sam


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